ፓፕ ስሚር ምንድነው፡ በምን ያህል ግዜ መመርመር አለብን?

Pap smear የማህፀን ጫፍ ካንሰር ቅድመ ምርመራ አይነት ሲሆን፤ ከማህፀን ጫፍ ላይ በቀላል መንገድ ናሙና በመውሰድ ካንሰር ህዋስ መኖራቸውን እና አለመኖራቸውን በላባራቶሪ የሚያሳይ የምርመራ መንገድ ነው። ይህም ቴስት የቅድመ ካንሰር ለውጦችን በማግኘት በካንስር የመያዝ እድልን የሚያመላክት ሲሆን፤ እኚህን ለውጦች ከተገኙ ደግሞ ቀደም ብሎ ህክምና እንዲደረግ ያስችላል። 

- - - - ትክክለኛውን የምርመራ ውጤት ለማግኘት ትክክለኛ ዘዴ መጠቀም አስፈላጊ ነው። ናሙናውን ለማግኘት የማኅጸን ጫፍን በንፁህ ስፔኩለም ማየት (ይህም ማለት ማህፀንን ውጫዊ ክፍልን ለማየት የሚያስችል መሳሪያ በመጠቀም) እናያለን። የማኅጸን ጫፍ ውጫዊ ክፍል ከተፀዳ በኋላ ናሙናውን (sample) ለመውሰድ ሚያስችል ብሩሽ በመጠቀም የማኅጸን ጫፍ ውጫዊ እና ውስጣዊ ህውሀሶችን 360 ዲግሪ ብሩሹን በማዞር ይወሰዳል። የተወሰደውን ናሙና በማይክሮስኮፕ በስነደዌ ሀኪም(pathologist) ካንሰር ህዋስ ወይም HPV infection መኖሩን ወይም አለመኖሩን ይረጋገጣል።

ምርመራው ውጤታማ እንዲሆን ከምርመራው በፊት የሚከተሉትን ማድረግ አስፈላጊ ነው። 

• ይህ ምርመራ በውር አበባ ወቅት ባይደረግ ይመረጣል።
• Avoid intercourse, heavy vaginal cleaning, or using any vaginal medicines or spermicidal foams, creams or jellies for two days before having a Pap smear, as these may wash away or obscure abnormal cells. After your Pap smear, you can go about your day without restrictions.

If you are between the ages of 21 to 65 years screening for cervical cell abnormalities and invasive cervical cancer is recommended. And should be performed every 3 years if done alone and every 5 years as co-testing (with HPV DNA test). For people with certain risk factors, frequent tests are recommended. For example, for people living with HIV, screening should be made from the start of sexual activity with shorter periods between screenings usually recommended, because of the different nature of the infection and the disease progression. 

ይህንን ምርመራ በሰለጠኑ የጤና ባለሞያዎች የሚሰራ ሲሆን በብዙ የህክምና ቦታዎች ላይገኝ ይችላል።

You are considered to have a negative result if your Pap smear only revealed normal cervical cells. You won’t require any additional care or testing until your subsequent pelvic checkup and Pap smear schedule. A positive result for your Pap smear means that abnormal or atypical cells were found. Even if the test is positive, it doesn’t mean you have cervical cancer. The type of cells found during your test will determine what the outcome indicates.

A procedure called colposcopy, which uses a specialized magnification tool (colposcope) to examine the tissues of the cervix, vagina, and vulva, may be used by your doctor if your Pap smear results are abnormal. Your doctor may also take a tissue sample (biopsy) from any areas that appear abnormal, and the sample is then sent to a laboratory for analysis and a definitive diagnosis. Please talk to your doctor if you have further questions.