A new alternative for pap smears, which women can do themselves, is being rolled out across Australia.
Following the decision for HPV testing to replace traditional pap smears, new DIY methods have been created in an effort to ensure more women are tested and to reduce the number of women falling victim to cervical cancer.
While it still requires a doctor’s visit, women can now go to the bathroom and privately collect a sample with the method described as easy and painless as “putting a tampon in.”
“The new test will be available to women over 30 who are uncomfortable with the process and have either never been tested, or are two years overdue,” Dr Deborah Bateson, medical director at Family Planning NSW, revealed.
It’s already clear the new testing method will save lives: a report published in the Medical Journal of Australia found that if 100,000 previously unscreened women did the DIY test once, at the age of 30, 364 cancer deaths would be prevented.
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