It can be challenging to make cervical screening cancer screening or pap smear a priority for transgender people; you may also be concerned about experiencing transphobia or seeing stigmatisation during the screening process.

 

There is a risk of developing cervical cancer for transgender people who have a vagina and cervix.

 

 

Can Transgender People Develop Cervical Cancer?

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Transgender men

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Trans men who still have a cervix should have cervical screening to help detect cervical cancer early. 

 

However, Trans men who have had a total hysterectomy to remove their cervix do not need cervical screening or a pap test. 

 

 

Transgender women

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Trans woman who has had surgery to create a vagina (vaginoplasty) and possibly a cervix, there’s a risk that you can develop cancer in the tissues of your neo-vagina or neo-cervix

 

If you’re a trans woman and have not had bottom surgery, you aren’t at risk of cervical cancer.

 

 

 

What are The Causes of Cervical Cancer?

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Cervical cancer starts to develop when the healthy cell in the cervix begins to change and mutate. 

 

One of the most common causes of cervical cancer is HPV infection.

 

 

 

What is HPV stands for Human Papillomavirus?

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There are many different types of HPV, and some strains of HPV cause health problems like genital warts and cancers. 

 

HPV is one of the common sexually transmitted infections (STD). HPV usually causes no symptoms, so you can’t tell that you have it. 

 

HPV can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact like sexual activity and sharing contaminated sex toys.

 

 

 

How to Prevent HPV?

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1. HPV Vaccination

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One of the effective ways to prevent or reduce the risk of HPV infection is through vaccination. 

 

The current HPV 9-valent vaccine can help prevent diseases caused only by HPV subtypes 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. 

 

In and other words, it can help:

 

• Prevents up to 90% of pre-cancers/cancers of the cervix
• Further 15-20 % lower risk of pre-cancers/cancers of vulvar, vaginal, and anus than the quadrivalent vaccine.
• Prevents up to 90% of genital warts

 

 

2. Routine Pap tests

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Pap tests can detect precancerous cells of the cervix to be monitored or treated to prevent cervical cancer.

 

 

When Should You Get a Pap Smear Done?

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In your 20s

Generally, it’s recommended for folks aged 21 and up to start getting their pap smears done every 3 years on average. 

 

If you are a virgin, you can also consider getting tested even though the risk is extremely low as contracting HPV is NOT the only way of developing cervical cancer. 

 

If there are abnormal findings or certain risk factors, then the doctors will probably recommend more frequent testing.

 

In your 30s

From age 30, doctors will also recommend an additional HPV test to pap smear every five years to detect the presence of the virus, especially the high-risk strains 16 and 18, which are responsible for an estimated 70% of cervical cancers.

 

In your 60s

When you reach about age 65 and have a chat with your doctor again, he or she might even say that you probably no longer require any more pap smear if all your previous tests generated normal findings AND you’ve stopped being sexually active.

 

Talk to your doctor in detail to determine if there’s a need. There are still certain risk factors that might still warrant continued routine testing.