Women's Health

They're being phased out in favour of an alternative known as HPV tests — which will start at a later age, with more than double the time in between examinations.

The move, slated for early December, will improve early detection and save lives, experts say.

But before you start celebrating: the end of the Pap smear won't mean the end of invasive examinations.

You know the scene — you're making dinner, calling the plumber/doctor/mechanic, checking homework and answering work emails — at the same time.

All the while, you are being peppered with questions by your nearest and dearest "where are my shoes?", "do we have any cheese?", "what time's my basketball game?", "what are we doing next Saturday night?".

But even if you know this experience well, you may not have the language to describe it.

But when the body part that's causing you trouble is inside your underwear, it's often a different story.

Women will ignore symptoms that involve their vulva or vagina because they feel embarrassed or ashamed. Some even fail to recognise when something's gone awry in the first place.

"Women need to become comfortable with their own anatomy and looking at their own vulva," said Dr Elizabeth Farrell AM, gynaecologist and medical director at the Jean Hailes for Women's Health organisation.

Biological therapies can help fight breast cancers caused by rare, inherited genetic errors like the BRCA one actress Angelina Jolie carries.

Now a new study by experts at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute suggests these targeted drugs may also work in many other women who do not have these risky genes.

The drugs could be effective in one in five breast cancers, say the researchers.

That's 20% of patients - far more than the 1 to 5% who develop the cancer alongside having faulty BRCA genes.

This results in half of all eligible lesbian and bisexual women never having had a smear test, they said.

The human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes most cervical cancers, can be transmitted through lesbian sex.

Cervical cancer charities say all women, no matter their orientation, should have regular cervical screening.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups say women regularly face barriers to accessing healthcare and can have poor experiences when they do.

Even so, there's the undeniable fact - it saves lives.

New research suggests as many as 2,000 women are saved every year in England as a result.

But, experts say it could be many, many more if all women aged 25-64 in the UK took the test when invited - which is normally every three years.

"Sometimes women feel a bit embarrassed or awkward about the whole thing," says Jess Kirby from Cancer Research UK.