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More than 60 years ago, Dr. George Papanicolaou invented a test — the Pap smear — that has saved millions of women from dying of, or even developing, cervical cancer. Since then, researchers have learned more about why and how cervical cancer develops and what to do about abnormal Pap smears (also known as Pap tests or Paps). There is even a new vaccine, recommended for girls and young women, to help prevent cervical cancer. But the Pap smear remains the mainstay for preventing this disease.
Your cervix is at the bottom of your uterus (womb) and opens into your vagina. When you have a period, the blood passes out of the uterus through the cervix and into the vagina. When you deliver a…