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Cervical Screening Test (CST) at home ~ Self Collection
It's now so much easier than the previous 2 year PAP smear to safeguard your well-being from cervical cancer - with a simple at home test every 5 years!
In Australia, you now have the option to collect your own sample for the Cervical Screening Test (much like the Covid PCR test).
This self-collected sample is examined for Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is a prevalent STI responsible for nearly all cervical cancer cases.
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Self-collection of a vaginal sample is just as effective at detecting HPV as a clinician-collected sample of the cervix.
Taking Preventive Measures into Your Own Hands:
Approximately 800 women in Australia receive a cervical cancer diagnosis annually, with around 70% of these instances affecting people who have not undergone screening or have fallen behind on their screenings.
If you are eligible, and would like to self-collect your sample, you can arrange a consultation with one of our telehealth General Practitioners. They will assess your eligibility, guide you through the simple process and send you a test request form.
No in person clinic visit required if you are eligible for self collection
Research confirms that a Cervical Screening Test using a self-collected vaginal sample delivers reliable results and comparable accuracy in HPV detection to a sample obtained by a clinician from the cervix during a speculum examination.
How to collect your own sample:
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Take your test request form to your local pathology collection centre to receive your swab. You’ll be provided with a private space to collect your sample or you can do it at home if you prefer.
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Twist the cap and remove the swab from the tube. Hold on to the cap and do not touch the end of the swab.
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Gently move the folds of skin around your vagina with your other hand. Insert the swab a few centimetres into your vagina. There may be a line on the swab stick that shows how far to insert the swab.
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Rotate the swab gently for 20 to 30 seconds.
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Gently remove the swab from your vagina. Push the swab completely back into the tube and give it back to the pathology collection centre, who will send your sample to a laboratory to be tested.
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IMPORTANT:
If you don't know when your last screening was, you can check at the National Screening Register
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Website: www.ncsr.gov.au
Telephone: 1800 627 701
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Hours of Operation: 8am to 6pm in all Australian state and territory time zones.
As a guide, when you call they may ask you personal information to help identify you, for example first name, date of birth and Medicare identification.
The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) is a world-first, digital platform developed to underpin the Australian Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) and National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP). The screening programs encourage age-eligible people to screen regularly so signs of cancer can be detected and treated early.
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The NCSR has been designed to enable a single electronic record for each person participating in the programs, and provides a national electronic infrastructure for the collection, storage, analysis and reporting of screening program data.