Protect the Pap – Access to Regular Screenings
Ladies this could literally save your life! It saved mine…
The Affordable Care Act covers cancer screenings for most people, including Pap testing for everyone with a cervix, making this life-saving checkup accessible no matter what your income level or financial situation happens to be.
Pap tests save lives. It’s a simple, easy screening needed regularly.
But, like a lot of people, I had all the excuses for putting it off …
We moved out of state after the birth of our youngest daughter, Ella Jaye. Her first year was a blur and my needs were put on the backburner to get through all the changes while still being there for my girls. I never dreamed that behavior might have prevented me from a lifetime of being there for them. In the thick of life, my Pap date slipped by. Before I knew it, it was well overdue.
My cycle had changed significantly after having my second daughter and getting my tubes tied. All women experience this to a degree, but my 30-day cycle changed drastically. I loved my OBGYN back in Florida and was overwhelmed with the thought of finding someone new.
Did I mention I get extremely nervous for any kind of doctor visit?
I used every excuse possible to keep putting it off. One morning in the shower while doing a self breast exam, I felt a possible lump. Since my other menstrual symptoms had been bonkers this pushed me to find a new doctor and schedule my Pap visit.
It took a few weeks to get in, and on the morning of my appointment I started the most ridiculously heavy period—of course! I went anyway to get the exam and was told not to worry about my breast lump (apparently hormones can cause lumps that come and go). I scheduled a time to come back for the Pap test.
Fast forward, a calendar conflict almost kept me from going —but something told me to go. It was quick and easy like all my previous Pap tests. A few weeks passed and I had forgotten all about the visit.
It was midday and I was sitting at my desk working when I got a local call. The doctor’s nurse called to say I had had an abnormal Pap screening and needed to be seen ASAP for a biopsy.
From there things kept getting worse, but since a Pap screening is a way to early detect cervical cancer, we were able to remove the cancer before things got more life threatening. Had I NOT gotten my Pap test, the cancer may have progressed and who knows where I would be today.
Cervical cancer is often asymptomatic until it reaches its later stages, but it can be detected early with an regular Pap tests. So it’s critical that the Pap s included in every woman’s routine wellness exam.
Many women like myself fall behind on their Pap screenings. Often they feel they lack the financial resources and medical coverage necessary to afford the test.
The truth is: the Pap test is accessible to most everyone with a cervix.
As mentioned at the start of this story, the Affordable Care Act covers cancer screenings for almost all people, including Pap testing for women, making this life-saving checkup accessible no matter what your income level or financial situation happens to be.
In paid partnership with The Social Good Foundation