My Pap Results Were Abnormal: Now What?

You received a call from your doctor's office with results from your routine Pap smear, and your results came back abnormal. If your mind jumps to the worst-case scenario, you’re not alone.

But first, take a deep breath and don’t panic — an abnormal Pap result is not a cancer diagnosis.

Understanding what abnormal Pap smear results really mean helps you navigate the next steps.

Our team at AssociatesMD offers Pap smears and women’s health services in Plantation, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Margate, Dania Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and here’s what to do next.

What abnormal Pap results mean

An abnormal Pap smear indicates that cells collected from your cervix show changes that differ from normal cells. These changes can range from mild to more concerning. However, abnormal cells don’t automatically mean cancer.

Pap tests are a screening tool to detect precancerous or cancerous changes before they develop into disease.

Finding these changes early — before cancer develops — is exactly what the Pap test is supposed to do.

You should feel better to know that the majority of abnormal Pap results don't progress to cancer.

Most abnormal Pap results are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV is extremely common, and your immune system typically clears HPV infection on its own within 1-2 years.

Some HPV strains are high-risk, meaning they're associated with cancer development if the infection persists, while others are low-risk.

Regardless of cause, cell abnormalities exist on a spectrum, and most abnormal Pap results are triggered by temporary cellular changes your body will resolve.

Even when precancerous changes are identified, they're highly treatable when caught at the cervical cell level, which is long before cancer develops.

Remember that if you get abnormal results, your Pap test did exactly what it was designed to do. It identified changes early when intervention is simple and effective.

In fact, you're actually in a better position than someone with no screening who might develop more advanced disease before symptoms appear.

What to do after abnormal Pap smear results

After you get your Pap smear results, talk to your doctor about your next steps. What you’ll need to do depends on your specific Pap results, and our team at AssociatesMD provides clear guidance about your individual situation.

For mild abnormalities, we often recommend HPV testing to determine whether high-risk HPV is present.

If HPV testing is negative, your risk of developing cervical cancer is very low, and you can return to routine screening. If HPV testing is positive, closer monitoring or additional testing may be necessary.

For more significant abnormalities, we typically recommend colposcopy, which is a procedure to examine your cervix with magnification.

We take biopsies of any areas of concern, and the procedure takes 15-30 minutes in our office. You receive local anesthesia before the biopsy, so discomfort is minimal.

We send biopsies to a lab for testing to determine whether precancerous changes are present. Most biopsies show changes that can be monitored or easily treated, and we team with you to develop a care plan.

At AssociatesMD, we provide comprehensive women's health care, including:

Annual Pap smears
Follow-up evaluation of abnormal results
Colposcopy procedures
Treatment of precancerous changes