Hate Pap smears? Self-tests exist, but are hard to get in Canada
CBC
U.S. health officials are backing a more accessible means of cervical cancer prevention — one that has limited availability in Canada.
The Health Resources and Services Administration issued new recommendations on Monday that will eventually allow women and people assigned female at birth easier access to at-home self-testing kits for the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted and can cause cervical cancer.
It's part of a greater shift away from using the longstanding Pap test in favour of HPV tests, which can be done by either a clinician or an individual.
When cervical cancer detected early through regular screening, there is a 90 per cent five-year survival rate.
Although many jurisdictions in Canada now recommend HPV screening over the traditional Pap test as a means of preventing cervical cancer, self-administered tests aren't readily available outside of B.C.
Here's what you need to know about HPV self-testing and how accessible it is.
The self-testing kits for HPV are somewhat similar to the at-home rapid tests for the virus that causes COVID-19.
A swab is used to collect a specimen from inside the vagina.
There is no speculum involved, unlike a Pap test or a clinician-administered HPV test.
The self-testing swab also doesn't need to touch or scrape the cervix, which can cause discomfort during a Pap test.
There's no rapid result, like the one you would have with a COVID-19 test; the sample for the HPV screening has to be sent to a lab to be tested.
Beyond the benefit of being able to do the test in the privacy of your home at a time that is convenient for you, self-collection is also linked to more people actually be screened for HPV — including those who are have never been tested or who don't get tested often — according to the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
Pap smears screen for abnormal or precancerous cells in the cervix and have less than 60 per cent accuracy, according to a 2022 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
HPV testing does not look at the patient's cells, but instead screens for DNA of the virus. Its accuracy in detecting the virus can be higher than 90 per cent, the study found.
The Northwestern Health Unit has confirmed its first case of measles in the region since an alarming rise in the spread of the disease began across the province and country — even leading to temporary outbreak status in Ontario.