Pap smear tests are really important for screening and making a diagnosis. A Pap smear is when the doctor takes cells from the cervix smears it on a glass slide. The slide is sent to a lab, where a technician, called cytotechnologist, checks the cells on the slide for abnormalities. Pap tests do a pretty good job of detecting abnormalities. When they say dysplasia, they mean the abnormal cells and it is the precancerous stage of cervical cancer.
Dysplasia shows up in the cervix s outer layer.
If the abnormal cells aren t treated, those cells could spread in various stages to the cervix and the rest of the reproductive organs as well as to other parts of the body. As long as precancerous conditions and cancer are caught at the preinvasive stage and treated, it s usually not life threatening. A lot of times it can be done in the doctor s office or on an outpatient basis. When I was told that I had dysplasia, I went to my doctor s office for a colpscopy, which is an exam where my doctor removed some tissue from my cervix for biopsy. Treatment depends on whether it s in the pre-invasive or invasive stages.