NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Doctors routinely advise that women undergoing screening for cervical cancer receive Pap smears every three years beginning at age 21, but women beginning at 30 have a new option now, according to the new guidelines issued on Tuesday by a national health services panel.
Instead of undergoing a pelvic exam, these patients may go to a doctor's office and collect their own vaginal sample to be tested for human papillomavirus, the infection that causes most cases of cervical cancer, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said.
