If you are 18 to 34, your pelvic exam should include a manual rectal exam as well. At age 35 to 49, the exam should include a screening for colorectal cancer. The test does not look for cancer but for growths called polyps. Usually, polyps are benign but they can become cancerous over time. Stool samples are usually requested at this age, too, so they can be checked for blood.
Polyps often bleed.
Pap smears , named for Dr. George Papanicolaou, the doctor who developed the test in the 1940s, are the most common part of the pelvic exam. They can detect abnormalities before they develop into cancer. Since they came into usage after World War II, the tests have reduced cervical cancer deaths in the U.S. by 70 percent, making them the most effective cancer-screening tool known to medicine. Women who have never had sexual intercourse are not at risk for cervical cancer. A recent Gallup poll showed that nine out of 10 women know they should have an annual Pap smear, but last year nearly 40 percent of women did not get one.