Govt hospitals directed to provide free Pap tests to prevent cervical cancer

Kathmandu / Jan 7: The government hospitals throughout the country are to provide free pap smear tests for the prevention of cervical cancer, the most common type of cancer among women.

The Ministry of Health has on Friday issued directives to the government hospitals across the country to provide the pap smear tests free of cost.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 8, 2016 had decided to make the pap smear tests provided at government hospitals across the country cost-free. The Ministry of Health on Friday send letters to all the regional public health offices to implement the decision.

According to doctors, the pap smear test can be done in five to 15 minutes. Women from 35 to 60 years should take the test at least once a year.

A Pap smear (also called a Pap test) is a screening procedure for cervical cancer. It tests for the presence of precancerous or cancerous cells on the cervix, the opening of the uterus. It’s named after the doctor who determined that this was a useful way to detect signs of cervical cancer, Georgios Papanikolaou. RSS