That Pap Test You've Been Putting Off? No Worries.

If there’s one thing we YOU Docs know our wives and daughters would never miss, it’s climbing onto an exam table every year or so, cramming their feet into cold metal stirrups, and flinching through a Pap smear. But like millions of women, they’ve done it for ages. The alternative? Not detecting cervical cancer. Not an option.

So it was a gleeful moment when, two years ago, enough research had piled up for docs to say, “Hey, you’re over 30. Your last three Pap tests were fine. Skip next year -- and stick with every two years as long as your tests stay fine.” What women said back: “Woohoo!”

News flash: Every two years could become every three (3!). Proposed new guidelines say get your first Pap at 21; if it's fine, repeat every three years as long as they're A-OK. At 65, discuss stopping with your doc. The task force behind the new guidelines found no evidence that testing every year or two is better than every three. It increases costs, stomach knots, and cold feet -- not cancer detection.

Also, the testing's being upgraded. Two tests will be run on the cervix cells: the Pap, plus one for HPV (human papilloma virus), a major culprit in cervical cancer. Important: Get vaccinated for HPV! It radically decreases this cancer. In fact, it's thought the HPV test may be even better than the Pap.

Yep, there are exceptions: Women who smoke, have AIDs, have had abnormal Paps or been exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero need more tests. But everyone else can grin.

Ask your doctor these nine questions the next time you need a medical test.