Friends,<BR>I'm going to post this on several of the boards. When is the last time you, your wife, mom, sisters, daughters had her Pap Smear? Find out and send them in.<BR>I just had to tell a beautiful 32 year old woman that she has cancer of the cervix...not a pre-cancerous lesion but the real thing. Why? Because she has been too busy in the last 9 years since her child was born to get in for an annual exam. Why is this a tragedy...because it never had to happen. Bear with me for the lecture..I'll make it short.<BR>Pap Smears pick up changes that happen gradually over the years...they don't just say "cancer" or "no cancer". They say things like "low grade lesions" or "high grade lesions" or "suspicious lesions". Some times they say ASCUS which is a pathologist's way of saying "probably nothing, but check it out anyway." All of the above can usually be fixed right in the office, or may need a minor procedure in the hospital....the point is get in there regularly and get checked.<BR>The main cause for the increase in abnormal Pap Smears is the Human Papilloma Virus...it is found in almost all cancers of the cervix...how do we get HPV? By having sex with multiple partners, or having sex with someone who has multiple partners...why are we here? Because our partner had sex with someone else. If you've contracted the virus when will it show up? Anytime it wants to...this year, next year..5 years from now....so get in and get checked. Yearly...Period.<BR>I know all the excuses, have used them all at some point in my life...hey, I'm on the other end of the speculum daily and I HATE going in for mine...but JUST DO IT!!!!<BR>T