A Pap test collects cells from your cervix. Once the swab is taken, the cells are put in a liquid and sent to a lab for testing and examined for signs of precancers or other irregularities.
If your Pap comes back as abnormal, further testing is necessary. This could include a HPV test, which is a specific test that checks the cells of your cervix for high-risk types of HPV infection that are most likely to cause cervical cancer.
Your healthcare provider may also examine your cervix and take a sample of tissue for a biopsy if they suspect you have cancer. If the biopsy confirms cancer, further tests will determine whether the disease has spread. These tests might include:
Liver and kidney function studies.
Blood and urine tests.
X-rays of your bladder, rectum, bowels and abdominal cavity.
This process is called staging. Working out the stage of a cancer is important, as it helps you decide the most effective type of treatment. Staging aims to assess how far the cancer has spread and whether it has reached nearby structures or more distant organs.
