To take the sample, your doctor will put a special instrument called a speculum into your vagina. This helps open your vagina so the sample can be taken. Your doctor will gently clean your cervix with a cotton swab and then collect a sample of cells with a small brush, a tiny spatula or a cotton swab. This sample is put on a glass slide and sent to a lab to be checked. The cells on the slide are checked for signs that they're changing from normal.
Cells go through a series of changes before they turn into cancer.
Pap smears can show if your cells are going through these changes long before you have cancer. Cervical cancer is not life-threatening if it's caught early. This is why getting regular Pap smears is so important. A negative Pap smear means that your results are normal. A positive Pap smear means that your results aren't normal.