Pap smears are also not perfect. They can and do miss precancerous cells and also cancerous ones. To get a positive Pap, the pathologist (a human, and therefore fallible) must examine the precise location where the cancer cells are. The surgery must then be complete, leaving exactly zero cancer cells behind. One cancer cell left in the body can lead to a recurrence, and, eventually, death. Believe me. I know from personal experience.

Another issue, since so many of you are hollering about cost, is how much does a Pap smear cost? According to a site I saw, pap tests should begin at age 21 or after 3 years of sexual activity. Beginning at age 12 would add a fair bit of cost as well as possibly straining resources, risking a higher rate of false positives and false negatives. It's the false negatives that worry me the most. Easy to happen when a tech is rushed.

I prefer to see prevention. Cancer treatment is expensive, debilitating and worrisome. Once you receive that diagnosis, everything is changed, for you and everyone who loves you. Eliminating (for the most part) one source of that heartbreak is a good thing. If a sufficient percentage of the population is vaccinated, HPV and the associated cervical cancers could go the way of smallpox and polio.