Ah, the Pap smear. The procedure reviled by everyone with a vagina.
A Pap smear is a procedure designed to test for cervical cancer, indications of possible future cervical cancer and several other conditions. The patient’s legs are put into stirrups and then a speculum, which is a metal or plastic instrument that helps examine orifices on the body, is inserted into the vagina. Then a brush is inserted and used to collect cells from the cervix. The cells are then sent off to be tested for several different diseases.
Needless to say, Pap smears are often dreaded or even feared by people with a vagina. It is a physically uncomfortable procedure, and for some it can be extremely painful. Plus, it can mentally affect patients, as it feels violating or embarrassing. Many can have emotional reactions, especially those who have been sexually assaulted. Even with all of these negatives, Pap smears have been the only option in testing for cervical cancer.
No Need to Fear the Pap Smear Anymore
But they won’t be much longer. As of May 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved self-collection tests that screen for cervical cancer. These tests, which would be administered by the patients themselves, and would consist of using a narrow brush and swabbing the vaginal walls rather than the cervix. This allows patients to conduct the test in private and leave the swab for the doctor, similar to the process of giving a urine sample.
Because of this new screening method there are hopes that more patients will get tested due to the new conditions that were not present in the Pap smear test, and therefore preventing the unnecessary deaths that resulted from people choosing to opt out of the Pap smear. The CDC states there are about 11,500 new cases of cervical cancer ever year in America and about 4,000 people die a year due to it. Thousands of these deaths could have been preventable, and hopefully now they will be.
And there is more hope yet! Currently take-home cervical cancer screening tests are being studied and considered by the FDA, which will allow so many the convenience of being able to take the very necessary screening from the comfort of their own home. While just having that option is nice, there are so many that will able to be screened for the first time (or for the first time in a while) with the option to do it from home. Many of the people with a vagina who live in rural areas do not have easy access to a doctor and therefore are not able to get their regular Pap smear tests, causing this population to be largely unscreened and without the knowledge if they have the cancer or not. People with lower socioeconomic status are also extremely under screened for many reasons such as no insurance, having to work multiple jobs and not having the time.
It has also been found that Black women and Black people with vaginas are disproportionally affected by cervical cancer, having a 30% higher chance of developing cervical cancer than non-Hispanic White people with vaginas, and a 60% higher chance of dying from cervical cancer than non-Hispanic White people. Hispanic people with vaginas have a 20% higher chance of dying from cervical cancer than non-Hispanic White people with vaginas.
It is the hope that with more accessible tests (that will be covered by public and private insurance, and supposedly free at many health clinics) more people will be actively screening and those who are diagnosed with cervical cancer will be able to seek treatment. And then the screening gap as well as the racial disparity in victims will decrease.
These new cervical screening option gives hope to everyone with a vagina, and trust me we desperately need that right now. With reproduction rights under attack, Transgender lives being threatened with anti-Trans bills, along with many other disheartening events it can be hard to feel empowered or safe in our own bodies. It sometimes seems like a burden. And while these alternative Pap smear tests are a very small piece in this puzzle, it is a small, much needed reminder that our existence shouldn’t be painful and shouldn’t be a death sentence.
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