Thread: 2 abnormal pap smears in a row

An abnormal pap smear is incredibly common in a woman's life. The reason they say "a little" is because of simple precautionary description. The doctor is doing what they are taught to do, follow up on an abnormal smear by requesting a follow-up smear later on. Abnormal cells are classified as abnormal when they seem a little "off" under the microscope. Cells should have a uniform shape and size, if a few cells are a bit wonky looking then the smear will be classified as abnormal simply because there are some different looking cells that should otherwise be nice and uniform in shape. Cells can look different for a variety of reasons, simple changes in diet can alter the grow rate of cells that in turn may result in them looking abnormal and hence be classified as abnormal and a 2nd precautionary smear will be requested. Infections such as a mild yeast infection will also result in an abnormal smear. Basically anything that shows up that looks different than normal looking regular cells will be called abnormal. The only time an abnormal smear is significantly more worry inducing is if the abnormality increases...so more wonky abnormal cells than before or if the cells do genuinely look like cancer cells. If cancer cells are reported then a doctor will immediately call a patient in. But a single or two abnormal pap smears does not mean cancer unless your doctor says it is. That second pap smear is a precautionary thing, a huge majority of the time the test comes back normal or it simply indicates the need for a prescription for a yeast infection for example. Abnormal smears are not something to get heavily worried about due to how common they actually are, but your doctor will let you know what is going on.