Michael Douglas' Throat Cancer Caused By Oral Sex, Not Smoking Or Drinking

[Munchkin03]

I was also thinking whether it was tmi that he publicly made the connection, or that the connection was being made in general. Although she never came forth to say it, it's likely that Farrah Fawcett's anal cancer was caused by HPV.

I was also surprised to learn that after 30, if a woman has had 5 normal paps and negative HPV tests, she can choose not to have a Pap smear for years!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

I was also surprised to learn that after 30, if a woman has had 5 normal paps and negative HPV tests, she can choose not to have a Pap smear for years!

Well you can always choose not to have one .. but I know what you're saying.

I believe it was fairly recently that reports/articles/research has come out indicating that women only need to have a pap once every 2 or 3 years, rather than every year.

But maybe that's been the case for a while and I only recently heard this...?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Well you can always choose not to have one .. but I know what you're saying.

I believe it was fairly recently that reports/articles/research has come out indicating that women only need to have a pap once every 2 or 3 years, rather than every year.

But maybe that's been the case for a while and I only recently heard this...?

They keep saying all this stuff can be done at longer-apart intervals and my response is "I'll stick with yearly, thanks." I've gone 2 years without a dental appointment and now I'm in the midst of a root canal. Never again. So you can imagine how I feel about anything down under.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

They keep saying all this stuff can be done at longer-apart intervals and my response is "I'll stick with yearly, thanks." I've gone 2 years without a dental appointment and now I'm in the midst of a root canal. Never again. So you can imagine how I feel about anything down under.

I went 6 years without a cleaning.. end of college, then graduated and didn't have health insurance, then got a job and was traveling all the time (and in all that time I lived in 3 different states) - and suddenly it was more than half a decade later and I realized I really needed to go to the dentist.

Fortunately, I only needed a deep cleaning. It was still pretty terrible, though. As you said, never again.

And I'm definitely still going for a yearly gyno exam.. no point in taking a chance!

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

And I'm definitely still going for a yearly gyno exam.. no point in taking a chance!

Me too! I'm just flabbergasted that anyone would go for it...

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Me too! I'm just flabbergasted that anyone would go for it...

The technology has actually changed in the last decade or so (with the introduction of ThinPrep), and with it, the ACOG recommendation for yearly paps.