1y ago

FDA approves self-tests for cervical cancer, as an alternative to the dreaded pelvic exam

www.usatoday.com

14 comments

This is a really good thing. Apart from the goal eventually being a home test-
Most primary care doctors don't perform pelvic exams, meaning patients traditionally have to go to a gynecologist-obstetrician (OB-GYN) if they want to screen for cervical cancer.
That's something their insurance might not cover. It also means free clinics can do it. My hope is this saves a lot of lives.
- Going to the OBGYN as a very masculine transdude is horrible. I get so many confused looks and hateful stares. This is going to be a godsend.
  
  I hope this doesn't attract heat, but I'm really struggling to figure out why you'd need to go to OBGYN is that just automatic or something?
  Edit: Yeah my brain missed the small detail I'm an idiot
- That's a good point. If there's a tool approved for patient-use, primary care may feel comfortable performing it if the patient isn't.
Just to understand this correctly, prior to this you would have to have a very-personal and VERY-uncomfortable examination of your genitals, and even sometimes see a specialist instead of a gp, but now have a self-test as an option? If so, I can imagine that that would be incredibly preferable
They need something like this for colonoscopies.
If there was a way to test it at home, I'm sure a lot less people would die from colorectal cancer.
- There's this:
  https://www.cologuard.com
  It's not for people at high risk, but it's a good way for a lot of people to screen themselves who are still unwilling to get a colonoscopy.
- As someone linked, there is. You shit in a paint can for a week, send it in, then they make a poo smoothy and ~~taste~~ test for cancer.

14 comments