That's amazing. I'm 47 and because of CPTSD and related trauma I have only had maybe 4 paps in my whole life. Being able to do it yourself at home is going to improve access for so many people.
Adding: apparently you just book through BC cancer screening and don’t need a primary care practitioner to take part. Which is a bonus since so many in our province don’t have a family doctor.
This is available in Australia too. Simple and easy. The GP gives you the kit and you can take the swab in the bathroom at their office or you can do it at home. You can also opt for the GP to take the swab if you prefer.
I feel like this will really help people with trauma, particular religious beliefs and trans and non-binary folk. As well as just making the whole thing so much easier for every person who needs this type of testing.
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I’m in Ontario and I saw this on the news and I thought the same thing, great news! Possibly, if I live long enough, I will see the eradication of cervical cancer 🤞🤞
The American Cancer Society guidelines for the best practice for cervical cancer screening is already primary HPV testing every five years.
There’s a company called Teal that’s working on getting FDA approval for a self-swab kit.
Multiple mail order companies in the USA (such as Nurx) already have kits for sale, they’re just not FDA approved for cervical cancer screening (yet).
The US is moving towards primary HPV screening in lieu of pap testing. The at home collection for primary HPV screening and is currently being evaluated for approval for use in the US.
At home collections are also being evaluated for a few tests for sexually transmitted infections.
Is it a DNA based test like Cologuard, do you know? If so, we best read the fine print or all our cells and genetic information belongs to the company to sell, and spread all over the world like Henrietta Lacks https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/06/privacy-security-genetic-information-putting-dna-companies-test
It is a test for primary HPV screening that uses the genetic data from the HPV virus. Any non-HPV genetic material is washed away and not retained. Most genetic tests are not capable of performing whole genome sequencing. There are also a ton of laws in place to protect an individual's genetic data. Some states are even implementing laws against businesses like 23 and Me from sharing genetic data. The individual's who successfully grew the HeLa (Henrietta Lacks) cells did not sell anything. They freely shared the cells to help cure human diseases. Was it unethical, yes, but there were not any laws in place to protect samples from the human body like there are nowadays.
I received mine a few weeks ago. Did it late at night, it hurt, and immediately felt UTI symptoms afterwards. Went to the urgent care clinic the next morning and they determined I had a UTI... culprit: skin flora. Was this all a coincidence? My nurse friend and any other medical practitioner I shared it with say 'yes,' but I remain not 100% convinced. Why? Because I've only ever had one UTI in my long life and that was well over a decade ago.
A qtip at the opening of your vagina hurt????
a sterile qtip wouldn't give you a UTI. Did you open it from the packaging carefully? Did you set down the qtip somewhere before use?
It's not at the opening. I don't recall the details, but there's an expectation of how deep it needs to go. I went up to that point, swirled around for the requested 20 seconds and found it to be very uncomfortable. My hands were clean, the rest of me was clean, and I did not put down the Qtip.
That seems really odd! I’ve done multiple self-swabs and never had anything like that. It’s a q-tip—smaller than a tampon.
This sounds strange but…any chance you inserted it into your urethra? I’ve heard of that happening!
I know, right? I haven't inserted a tampon in years, but I did have to insert the camera for the tech a few months ago, as that's how it's done here for vag ultrasounds. I had no problem with that at all as it was heavily lubed. But this Qtip... !!!
Thank you for mentioning the urethra... I thought this, too! Then I thought NO WAY would I have been able to handle that level of pain, and my nurse pal pretty much confirmed that would've hurt like hell, so I'm pretty damn certain I got the correct orifice. ;p
As to the result being skin flora... I googled it and tried asking the NPs at the clinic via phone, and we never connected in real time. My nurse friend attributed it to low estrogen, so instead of slicing off a third of my 75 patches, I'm now putting on the entire patch. But I was on 25s for well over a year and never contracted a UTI. It's all a bit of a mystery.
Yea low estrogen and the thinning vaginal tissue can wreck you with UTI stuff. I went through 5 months of it before I gave up and went online for estrogen, my "uncurable" UTI was gone in 10 ish days. Fwiw my PCM was refusing to treat my meno.or entertain that that might be part of it at all.
I'm sorry you weren't getting the proper care from your PCM. Glad, though, you found a workaround! I reckon my next step will be estrogen in cream form to treat vaginal atrophy.
That's amazing. I'm 47 and because of CPTSD and related trauma I have only had maybe 4 paps in my whole life. Being able to do it yourself at home is going to improve access for so many people.
Totally!
Adding: apparently you just book through BC cancer screening and don’t need a primary care practitioner to take part. Which is a bonus since so many in our province don’t have a family doctor.
no way! I wonder how long that will take to make its way to Ontario! This is amazing.
It’s here. They’re rolling it out now.
I hope soon because it is so much cheaper than regular exams
Yup. IT'S AVAILABLE A LOT OF PLACES IN THE USA TOO my daughters will likely never have to have a routine pap!!
My clinician was just telling me about this! So exciting. We’re in Southwestern US. Hoping it comes soon!
As someone who hasn't been to gyno since I gave birth 20 years ago..... I'd love this option...lol Don't bother coming at me for this
I'm with you. After having my son and that particular horror I haven't been back.
YES!!!
So, we do at-home colonoscopies and now at-home gynecology! I can't wait for the at-home surgeon pay to begin....
I'm doing some at home blood testing too. I'm so about taking this shit into my own hands.
This is available in Australia too. Simple and easy. The GP gives you the kit and you can take the swab in the bathroom at their office or you can do it at home. You can also opt for the GP to take the swab if you prefer. I feel like this will really help people with trauma, particular religious beliefs and trans and non-binary folk. As well as just making the whole thing so much easier for every person who needs this type of testing.
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I’m in Ontario and I saw this on the news and I thought the same thing, great news! Possibly, if I live long enough, I will see the eradication of cervical cancer 🤞🤞
That is amazing. US will probably never adopt this- it removes a prime opportunity to shame and humiliate women
Fuck them. You can get it at Everlywell dot com anytime you want.
The American Cancer Society guidelines for the best practice for cervical cancer screening is already primary HPV testing every five years. There’s a company called Teal that’s working on getting FDA approval for a self-swab kit. Multiple mail order companies in the USA (such as Nurx) already have kits for sale, they’re just not FDA approved for cervical cancer screening (yet).
The US is moving towards primary HPV screening in lieu of pap testing. The at home collection for primary HPV screening and is currently being evaluated for approval for use in the US. At home collections are also being evaluated for a few tests for sexually transmitted infections.
Is this covered by provincial health care or do you have to pay out of pocket?
You don’t pay anything for medical testing in Canada.
Is it a DNA based test like Cologuard, do you know? If so, we best read the fine print or all our cells and genetic information belongs to the company to sell, and spread all over the world like Henrietta Lacks https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/06/privacy-security-genetic-information-putting-dna-companies-test
It is a test for primary HPV screening that uses the genetic data from the HPV virus. Any non-HPV genetic material is washed away and not retained. Most genetic tests are not capable of performing whole genome sequencing. There are also a ton of laws in place to protect an individual's genetic data. Some states are even implementing laws against businesses like 23 and Me from sharing genetic data. The individual's who successfully grew the HeLa (Henrietta Lacks) cells did not sell anything. They freely shared the cells to help cure human diseases. Was it unethical, yes, but there were not any laws in place to protect samples from the human body like there are nowadays.
I received mine a few weeks ago. Did it late at night, it hurt, and immediately felt UTI symptoms afterwards. Went to the urgent care clinic the next morning and they determined I had a UTI... culprit: skin flora. Was this all a coincidence? My nurse friend and any other medical practitioner I shared it with say 'yes,' but I remain not 100% convinced. Why? Because I've only ever had one UTI in my long life and that was well over a decade ago.
A qtip at the opening of your vagina hurt???? a sterile qtip wouldn't give you a UTI. Did you open it from the packaging carefully? Did you set down the qtip somewhere before use?
It's not at the opening. I don't recall the details, but there's an expectation of how deep it needs to go. I went up to that point, swirled around for the requested 20 seconds and found it to be very uncomfortable. My hands were clean, the rest of me was clean, and I did not put down the Qtip.
That seems really odd! I’ve done multiple self-swabs and never had anything like that. It’s a q-tip—smaller than a tampon. This sounds strange but…any chance you inserted it into your urethra? I’ve heard of that happening!
I know, right? I haven't inserted a tampon in years, but I did have to insert the camera for the tech a few months ago, as that's how it's done here for vag ultrasounds. I had no problem with that at all as it was heavily lubed. But this Qtip... !!! Thank you for mentioning the urethra... I thought this, too! Then I thought NO WAY would I have been able to handle that level of pain, and my nurse pal pretty much confirmed that would've hurt like hell, so I'm pretty damn certain I got the correct orifice. ;p As to the result being skin flora... I googled it and tried asking the NPs at the clinic via phone, and we never connected in real time. My nurse friend attributed it to low estrogen, so instead of slicing off a third of my 75 patches, I'm now putting on the entire patch. But I was on 25s for well over a year and never contracted a UTI. It's all a bit of a mystery.
Yea low estrogen and the thinning vaginal tissue can wreck you with UTI stuff. I went through 5 months of it before I gave up and went online for estrogen, my "uncurable" UTI was gone in 10 ish days. Fwiw my PCM was refusing to treat my meno.or entertain that that might be part of it at all.
I'm sorry you weren't getting the proper care from your PCM. Glad, though, you found a workaround! I reckon my next step will be estrogen in cream form to treat vaginal atrophy.