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Nancy R. Berman, MSN, ANP-BC, NCMP, FAANP

Nurse Practitioner

Michigan Healthcare Professionals

Farmington Hills, MI

Clinical Instructor

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Detroit, MI

Nancy R. Berman has been in practice as an Adult Nurse Practitioner with emphasis in women's health care since 1978. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan and her Master of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Currently, she specializes in women's health care at Millennium Affiliated Physicians, a division of Michigan Healthcare Professionals, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She is a clinical instructor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. She holds the certification of Menopause Practitioner from the North American Menopause Society. She is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Ms. Berman has taught extensively on lower genital tract disease, including HPV, cervical cancer prevention, HPV testing and HPV vaccine, management of the abnormal Pap test, colposcopy and vulvar and vaginal disease. She has also been active in education in the management of menopause and osteoporosis. She served on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) from 2009 to 2016, co-chaired their education committee, and holds their Colposcopy Recognition Award. She serves on the Michigan Cervical Cancer Consortium and served on the Michigan Governor's Task Force on Cervical Cancer. Recent publications by Ms. Berman have appeared in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners, Women's Health in Primary Care, and chapters in Advanced Health Assessment of Women 4th edition and the Atlas of Primary Care Procedures, 3rd edition, Lippincott, Williams.

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Why do I need a Pap test and an HPV test?

Why do I need a Pap test and an HPV test?

Why do I need a Pap test and an HPV test?

Ask the Expert

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Q: Why do I need a Pap test and an HPV test?


A:

The Pap test checks for abnormal cell changes of your cervix caused by HPV. The HPV test looks for the DNA or RNA from high-risk types of HPV that can cause abnormal changes of cervical cells. Most women will be infected by HPV and will clear their infections within two years. A prolonged HPV infection can be the most significant risk factor for cervical cancer, especially infection with HPV 16 or 18—the two highest-risk strains of the virus.

For women age 30 and older, the combination of a Pap test and the HPV test—called co-testing—is less likely to miss an abnormality than the Pap test alone. The HPV test is used in screening women 30 and older because if the virus is found, it may be an infection that has been there for a long time. If you have HPV, you will be evaluated closely, even if your Pap test is normal. This means that disease may be found that was missed by the Pap test. If you have a high-risk strain of HPV, you will be followed closely, as long as the virus remains in your cells.

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