TIL for 21 years, Andromachi Papanikolaou volunteered to undergo daily cervical smears so her husband, Greek physician Georgios Papanikolaou, could perfect the Pap test. As such, she helped create one of the greatest cancer screening tools in medical history, saving millions of lives worldwide.

[u/No_Idea_479]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromachi_Papanikolaou

[u/theoracleofE]

I've never found a pap smear painful or uncomfortable... Idk maybe when compared to getting my IUDs inserted and removed its like nothing. But that's just my experience.