Questions patients ask

No. A Pap test samples cells from the cervix and screens for cervical cancer only. It tells us nothing about the ovaries, the uterus, or the vulva. There is no screening test for those cancers in women at average risk. See prevention and screening.

Yes. ACOG is explicit that women who have been vaccinated still follow the cervical cancer screening recommendations for their age group. The vaccine covers most but not all of the high-risk HPV types. See the screening schedule.

Because cervical cancer takes years to develop from a persistent HPV infection, a test every three to five years catches changes with time to spare. What changed is how often one test needs repeating, not whether the yearly visit is worth keeping. See your well-woman visit.

Usually after age 65, if you have no history of moderate or severe abnormality and have had adequate negative results in the past ten years. If you have had cervical precancer or cancer, screening continues longer. See the screening page.

It depends on why the uterus was removed and whether the cervix came out with it. For a benign reason with the cervix removed, routine screening usually stops. For cancer or significant precancer, it usually continues. Ask at your next visit which situation applies to you.

Not for women at average risk. CA-125 and pelvic ultrasound are useful once we are investigating a symptom or following a known cancer, but as screening for healthy women they have not been shown to save lives. See ovarian cancer.

Yes. Any amount, once, at any point after your periods stopped counts, and it should be evaluated. Most of the time the cause is not cancer, but about 91 percent of uterine cancers announce themselves this way, which is why we never wait it out.

Almost certainly not. An abnormal Pap means some cells did not look normal, and the next step is usually a colposcopy, which is an office exam with a magnifying scope and small biopsies. Most abnormal results are not cancer.

Usually about a week after surgery for the final report. It can be longer if extra staining or a second opinion is needed. That wait is hard, and calling to ask is completely reasonable.

Ask directly for a biopsy. A vulvar change that has not resolved after treatment needs tissue, not another cream. It is a few minutes in the office with numbing medicine. See vulvar cancer.

If you have been diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, genetic testing is part of standard care, because the result can change your treatment and it matters for your family. If uterine or colon cancer runs in your family, ask about Lynch syndrome.

Nothing to eat or chew for 8 hours before you arrive at the hospital. Clear liquids are allowed up to 2 hours before your procedure. Gum, mints, and hard candy all count as chewing. See before surgery.

Blood thinners including aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs stop 5 days before. Metformin is held the day before. GLP-1 medications stop 2 weeks before. Essential medications such as blood pressure and thyroid medicine continue, with a small sip of water. Do not stop a prescribed blood thinner without talking to us first.

No. The instructions ask for a responsible adult to drive you home, and for someone to stay with you for at least 24 hours. Surgery can be cancelled if there is nobody to take you home.

Antibacterial soap the night before and again the morning of surgery reduces the bacteria on your skin, which lowers the chance of an incision infection. Skip lotion, powder, perfume, and deodorant on the day.

The surgery scheduler calls the day before to confirm. Make sure the number on your paperwork is one where we can leave a detailed voicemail. Your arrival time can change at any time. If you have not heard by the afternoon before, call the scheduling line.

The carbon dioxide gas used during laparoscopic and robotic surgery irritates the diaphragm, and that pain is felt in the shoulder. It is normal, it is not your shoulder, and it goes away as the gas absorbs. Walking helps more than anything, and simethicone after meals helps too.

That is Monsel's solution, a mustard-colored medicine applied to a biopsy site to stop bleeding, mixing with a small amount of blood. It is normal and expected after a cone biopsy or vaginal biopsies. It is the single most common call we get.

Never the day of surgery, never while taking prescription pain medicine, and never if soreness slows your reaction time. After laparotomy or laparoscopy, no driving for the first 1 to 2 weeks. See after surgery.

It depends on the procedure. After laparotomy or laparoscopy, nothing over 15 to 20 pounds for 6 weeks. After a cone biopsy, nothing over 20 pounds for 4 weeks. After a D&C, 2 weeks. After a vaginal procedure, 1 week. After vulvar surgery, until the area has healed.

Pelvic rest means nothing in the vagina at all, including intercourse, douching, and tampons. After laparotomy or laparoscopy it is 12 weeks. After a cone biopsy, 4 weeks. After a D&C, 2 weeks. After a vaginal procedure, 1 week. After vulvar surgery, until the area has healed.

Shower when you feel comfortable, or the day after surgery for abdominal surgery. Avoid tub baths, swimming, and hot tubs for about 2 weeks or until you are cleared at your post-operative visit. After vulvar surgery, avoid lakes, pools, and hot tubs until the site has healed.

That is a negative pressure dressing, the purple foam with a battery pack, telling you it is finished. It usually happens 5 to 7 days after surgery. Peel it off and throw it away along with the battery pack.

Your 2 week and 6 week visits were scheduled on the same day your procedure was scheduled. They are in the blue folder you were given after your consult. If you cannot find it, call the scheduling line.

Some vaginal spotting is normal after all of these procedures. After laparotomy or laparoscopy it can continue for up to 12 weeks. Use pads, not tampons. Call if you feel a sudden gush or fill more than one pad an hour.

Call the office and we will check your specific plan before your visit. Bring your insurance card and a photo ID to every appointment.

This site has no contact form on purpose. Anything about your health belongs in a phone call or your patient portal, where it stays private and reaches someone who can act on it the same day.

Yes, and please do. A second set of ears at a cancer appointment is worth a great deal, and it is normal not to remember much of what was said the first time.

Photo ID, insurance card, a list of your medications and allergies, any imaging or pathology reports from elsewhere, your family cancer history with ages if you know them, and a written list of your questions.