My wife of 46 years had an abnormal Pap result when she was in her early twenties. This was for her routine Pap cancer screen for cervical cancer. She was then referred to a gynecologist who diagnosed her with abnormal cells (pre-cancerous cells that had the potential to become cancer) at the tip of her uterus or cervix. She went on to have cryotherapy(which will freeze and destroy abnormal cells). A follow-up Pap after her procedure was normal. She had close monitoring for a few years to make sure this pre-cancerous lesion would not return. My wife continued having normal Pap cancer screens thereafter.
Cancer screening is a medical procedure looking for cancer before a person has any symptoms. This cancer screening can help find cancer at an early stage where abnormal cells(pre-cancerous/not yet cancer) or cancer(rogue cells) are easier to treat or cure. The Pap cancer screen was life-saving for my wife.
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) currently recommends routine screening for cervical cancer(similar to the Pap test my wife did), breast cancer (via mammogram), colorectal cancer (via colonoscopy), and lung cancer (via low-dose CT scan for smokers).
What is the lifetime risk for getting cancer for you, me, and someone close to us? See what the American Cancer Society says:https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/understanding-cancer-risk/lifetime-probability-of-developing-or-dying-from-cancer.html