01The basics
What is a Pap smear, and what is ThinPrep?
A Pap smear, also called a Pap test, collects cells from the cervix so a laboratory can look for changes caused by HPV, a very common virus. The aim is to find changes early, when treating them can prevent cancer. It is a screening test: it does not diagnose cancer, and it checks the cervix only, not the womb or ovaries.
- ThinPrep
- ThinPrep is the trade name of one liquid-based Pap test: the cells go into a small pot of liquid, not straight onto a glass slide. The US Preventive Services Task Force says current evidence shows no clinically important differences between the two methods. One advantage of the liquid is that an HPV test can be run on the same sample; it costs more than the older method.
- How often
- Jamaica's National Health Fund sets out a Pap smear every three years from 21 to 29, a Pap smear or an HPV test every three years from 30 to 64, and a test every year for women at high risk, such as women with HIV. Abroad, a five-year gap is used only with an HPV test.
- The HPV test
- It looks for the high-risk types of HPV, on the same sample. HPV is passed on by sexual contact and usually clears by itself, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. You still need screening if you have had the HPV vaccine, and if you are not having sex.
Keep in mind
An abnormal result is not a cancer diagnosis.
Most results are normal, and an abnormal one is a reason for another test, not a diagnosis. In England, where the first test is for HPV, of every 100 women screened, about 87 have no HPV, about 9 are tested again in a year, and about 4 are sent for a closer look at the cervix.
The test is repeated at regular gaps, and a new symptom is worth a visit even after a normal result.
02Your visit
Who do you see?
Dr. Charles Rockhead, a gynaecologist. Your visit is with him, in person, at 9 Devon Road in Kingston. You can bring someone with you.
Dr. Charles Rockhead, Medical Director — Oshun Cosmetic Services, Kingston.
Dr. Charles Rockhead
Medical Director · Board-Certified OB/GYN · 30+ years of practice
Dr. Charles Rockhead is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with more than thirty years of practice in Kingston. He is the Medical Director of Oshun Cosmetic Services and the founding physician of Amadeo Medical Group, the parent clinical practice.
Read the clinic story · View Dr. Rockhead's LinkedIn
03The test
Before, during and after.
i.
Getting ready
Book for a day when you are not on your period. Call us if it arrives: we will say whether to come. Do not cancel for bleeding that is not your period. For two days before, don't put tampons, creams, medicines or lubricants in the vagina, don't douche, and don't have vaginal sex. Don't stop a prescribed vaginal medicine without asking; if it treats a discharge or an infection, book for after it ends.
ii.
Before you undress
Say if an examination has been painful or frightening for you before. You can ask for a smaller speculum, and you can ask to stop at any time.
iii.
The test
You undress from the waist down and lie back with your knees bent. A speculum, a smooth instrument, is gently opened inside the vagina so the cervix can be seen, and a soft brush collects the cells. The test itself should take less than five minutes; we allow 30 to 45 minutes for the whole visit. It does not usually hurt, though some women find it uncomfortable or painful.
iv.
Afterwards
You can go straight back to your day. A little spotting should stop within a few hours. Call (876) 676-6297 if you bleed heavily, or if spotting has not stopped after a few hours. If we're closed or you can't reach us, see a doctor.
04Results
What do the results mean?
- Getting them
- Results usually take one to three weeks. You get yours in writing, with the next step if there is one. If you have heard nothing after three weeks, call us.
- Normal
- Most women have a normal result. Your next test is at the usual gap.
- Abnormal
- The most common abnormal finding is a mild change, and it usually leads to an HPV test first. Others lead to a repeat test or a colposcopy, a closer look at the cervix. Do not skip the next step.
- Could not be read
- Sometimes the sample cannot be read, because it held too few cells or they were hidden by blood or mucus. The test is repeated in two to four months. It does not mean anything is wrong.
- A positive HPV result
- The virus was found. It is not cancer. Depending on the type of HPV and on your cells, you are tested again in a year or sent for a colposcopy. It does not mean your partner has had sex with someone else while you have been together.
05Who needs it
Who needs a Pap smear, and which symptoms should not wait?
- Symptoms that should not wait
- See a doctor now, without waiting for a smear, if you have bleeding between periods, during or after sex, or after the menopause; periods heavier than usual; a change in your discharge; or pain during sex or in the lower back, pelvis or lower belly. These are very common and have many causes, but they should be checked, whatever your last smear said.
- Who needs testing more often
- Women with HIV or a weakened immune system, and women who have had an abnormal result, treatment to the cervix, or cervical cancer. Tell Dr. Rockhead, because the usual gaps do not apply to you.
- Who may not need one
- Women under 21, and women whose womb and cervix were both removed for a reason other than cancer or pre-cancer. Past 65, you may stop only after regular normal results; a woman who has never been tested still needs one, even past 65. After the menopause you still need testing.
- If you are pregnant
- Tell us when you book. A Pap smear is safe in pregnancy, but a routine test may wait until about three months after your baby is due. If you are overdue, it may be done in pregnancy. A repeat test after an abnormal result need not wait.
06Cost & booking
How much does a Pap smear cost in Kingston?
- What it costs
- A Pap smear is priced as the test fee plus the laboratory's fee. Ask us on WhatsApp for an estimate before you book; the total is confirmed in writing at your visit.
- A consultation
- Consultations with Dr. Rockhead start at J$11,000.
- The National Health Fund
- The NHFCard gives women of 21 and over J$1,300 towards a Pap smear, once every three years unless your doctor says otherwise, at doctors who take part. Bring your card and ask us when you book.
- When we are open
- Monday and Wednesday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Closed Friday to Sunday.
- Paying
- Cash, debit card, credit card or approved financing. Whether a health plan pays depends on the plan, so check with your own insurer.
If this sounds right
The next step is a conversation, not a commitment.
Book your visit. Bring any earlier results.
No obligation · Every consultation is in-person with Dr. Rockhead.
