Why your next trip to the gyno might be different: There’s an alternative to Pap smears

In May, the US Food and Drug Administration gave the greenlight for patients to have the option to collect their own vaginal samples for cervical cancer screenings instead of undergoing traditional HPV tests or Pap smears, which involve a speculum to screen for the disease. Similar to how they may collect their own urine samples, patients can now collect their own vaginal samples in a health-care setting, such as a doctor’s office, urgent care or pharmacy clinic.

“Almost all cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with certain types of HPV,” Dr. Karen E. Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said in a news release in May when the FDA approved HPV self-collection testing for cervical cancer screening. “Self-collection can expand access to screening and reduces barriers, which will give more people the opportunity to detect, treat, and ultimately survive cancer.”

CNN - Sept. 5, 2024