For women, hearing the words “abnormal pap test” can bring anxiety, worry, and fear.

“An abnormal pap smear doesn’t mean the end of the world. Pap smear is a screening tool. It is either normal or abnormal. It doesn’t say cancer or not,” explains Dr. James Orr, Medical Director of Oncology Services for Lee Memorial Health System. An abnormal pap smear simply means that the test found some cells on your cervix that do not look normal.

“We actually look at the cervix, with a magnified view, so that those of us who do this, can visualize the area of abnormality so we can do a biopsy, get that biopsy evaluated under the microscope and then make appropriate plans,” adds Dr. Orr.

Right now, researchers are making changes to the pap test to try and eliminate false readings. Dr. Orr says a new liquid based system is raising eyebrows. That’s when the sample taken from the cervix is mixed in a liquid and sent to a lab for review. “It seems like the false negatives are less. It seems like the pickup rate that is of pre-malignant changes is higher,” he adds.

High-risk sex, smoking, even an impaired immune system can raise your chances of having an abnormal pap test.

Physicians like Dr. Orr advise a follow up pap smear should one come back abnormal. “We now recommend at least three normal smears because we think it’s extremely important to have a succession of normal smears,” says Dr. Orr. A succession of abnormal smears could signal something more dangerous, which is why it’s important to have a pap test every year.