A world where simple cotton swabs make a difference in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is unique: It’s one cancer A combination of vaccination and screening can almost completely prevent it..

Vaccination is called “primary prevention”. This will prevent you from being infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Screening is called “secondary prevention”. This may lead to HPV infection, which has been shown to cause most people to become infected at some stage and cause more than 90% of cervical cancers. ..

NS vaccination Optimal is given around the age of 12 to 13. Ideally given before being infected with HPV by sexual activity. However, there are many women around the world who are still dependent on screening to prevent this cancer, as it has only been available since 2007.

Screening meant regular Papanicolaou stain specimens for the rest of us. This includes a pelvic examination and an inserted endoscope. No one is looking forward to the process, but most women were able to bring themselves to do it.

Australia has a well-supported screening program for decades. But it hasn’t reached everyone yet. This is usually due to a disadvantage. If you are from a marginalized community, have experienced sexual assault or abuse, or have had bad experiences with previous Papanicolaou stain specimens, you may not be able to take the exam on those women. It can be very difficult. This was a major challenge in providing this life-saving screening to everyone in need in this country.

Another major challenge is fairness in access and accessibility. In some countries around the world, cervical cancer screening has little or no effect, resulting in a very high incidence of preventable cancer.

Fortunately, the “next big thing” of screening is here now. You no longer need to look for cells through Papanicolaou stains that indicate that you have precancerous, but you can go earlier and look for the human papillomavirus that causes those changes.

The government has announced that a new method of collecting samples for HPV testing will be widely available throughout the Australian community. This is a self-collection method. Instead of having a doctor do an internal examination to take a sample of cells from the cervix Patients will be given a cotton swab that they can use Take a sample from the vagina – this is as accurate as a sample taken by a healthcare professional. The possibility of screening people we haven’t reached is very exciting.

As we are talking about, the program is unfolding. Currently in Australia, it is available to people over the age of 30 who meet the criteria that screening is delayed by more than 2 years. And from July 1st next year, it will be available to everyone to be screened, and the method of collecting samples will be their choice.

This is a true breakthrough, giving the females who are currently in control of how the test is conducted autonomy and agency. Some people are accustomed to Papanicolaou stain specimens and are accustomed to the process. If you need it, you don’t need to change it. However, there will be many who make all the difference between not being screened and being screened. The World Health Organization is calling for the eradication of this cancer because it can be prevented almost completely.

After reading the 2018 meta-analysis, I was very excited to say that switching to self-collection did not reduce the sensitivity of the test. I’ve worked on projects in Australia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea, and I’m very excited to be able to offer screenings to people who weren’t accessible. We can now climb across Papua New Guinea and the tragicly high incidence of cancer-perhaps because women die without diagnosis or even dignified palliative care, perhaps more than measured. Will be expensive. Considering the healthcare professionals needed to perform these pelvic examinations earlier, it is very difficult to scale them. And, of course, there are cultural barriers. Therefore, self-collection provides a way to scale up screening so that healthcare professionals can actually see the cervix of those who detect HPV and 90% of those who have nothing will be treated. ..

It’s a simple swab, but it creates a world of difference.

At the time, I simply thought that a pathologist had all the answers, so I originally chose pathology as my specialist. Of course, the more we learn, the more we can understand that there are uncertainties in every science. But I was very fortunate to be able to work behind the scenes of a screening program, knowing that we would make an incredible difference.

We do not know who is benefiting from this program. Successful prevention is invisible and should be.

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