This screening test detects abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix (see CERVIX UTERI, CERVICAL CANCER), enabling an affected woman to have early treatment. The National Health Service has arrangements to check women regularly. A woman's first test should be within six months of her first experience of intercourse and thereafter at intervals for the rest of her life. The test is simple, with some cells being scraped off the cervix with a spatula and the tissue then being examined microscopically.