TITLE PANEL
Title in dripping horror-style letters: "PAPS FEAR"
Subtitle: "BY RACHEL NABORS SUBCULTUREOFONE.COM"
PANEL 1
Close-up of Rachel looking hopeful with large eyes.
RACHEL: "I want to get a pap smear."
PANEL 2
Tuna the black cat looks confused. Rachel stands next to a chalkboard diagram of female anatomy (showing uterus, cervix, vaginal canal, vulva). She's wearing a "mostly harmless" t-shirt and holding a pointer.
TUNA: "What's a 'paps mere?'"
RACHEL: "It's a simple yearly procedure in which a doctor swabs a woman's cervix and examines the cells for any signs of abnormality that might indicate cancer."
PANEL 3
Tuna looks skeptical in the foreground.
TUNA: "Aren't you only supposed to get those if you had sex?"
TUNA: "Last I checked, you're still a virgin."
I tried to have my first Pap smear when I was twenty and a virgin. They couldn’t do it because “I was to tight”. Now I’m just waiting till I have sex.
In the UK, you currently can’t get a pap smear on the NHS until you turn twenty-five, then you’re supposed to have them regularly to be on the safe side, I believe. Fun trivia from merry old England!
I started having pap smears when I was very young. Cancer is a big issue with my family (everyone on my mom’s side of the family has had it at LEAST once except for myself–and my mom’s tumors were all benign…lucky!). I guess it just depends on a number of factors whether they’ll do it or not. And, of course, the main issue with any doctor: Whether you have the MONEY to pay for it. eyeroll