Hi there and thanks for the post

Cervical screening is all about preventing cervical cancer. It is designed to pick up abnormality at an early stage where it can be either monitored or treated until everything returns to normal.

The first test performed in cervical screening is to check for high risk strains of the human papilloma virus (hpv). This is an extremely common virus that is passed through intimate skin to skin contact that the immune system usually clears within a couple of years of coming into contact with.

HPV itself doesn't cause cancer but sometimes can cause abnormal cells to develop in the cervix, that is left undetected may go on to develop into cancer. Therefore if HPV can be picked up in screening those women cervical cells can be checked for abnormality and treated ( removed ) if necessary. When HPV is detected without any cell changes as in your care, then it is normal to be rescreened in a years time.

There is no harm to you having to wait a year because even when HPV does cause abnormal cells to develop it often taken a long time for those abnormal cells to turn into cancer.

I hope this is helpful information to you and that this can put your mind at ease for now.

Do get back in touch if you have further questions or if you prefer call us on 0808 800 4040 and we can talk this through with you.

Best wishes

Naomi