The "madness" of unnecessary hysterectomy has to stop

[wnylib]

6. I thought this practice had stopped

for most (white) women, but I know that it continues to be a problem for brown and black women.

My mother had ovarian cancer so when I began developing cysts after menopause and it is not possible to know if they are benign or not without surgery, I was relieved to have an oophorectomy. (The cysts were benign.) I had also had severe cervical dysplasia removed some years earlier, so I had the option of a hysterectomy when the ovaries were removed. I chose not to.

But now I have a hard time convincing medical staff to do a pap test. They assume that, at my age, it is not necessary. But, due to my history and my mother's, I think it is.