You should speak to your healthcare provider about your cervical screening options. If you decide collecting your own sample is the best option for you, your healthcare provider will give you a swab and instructions on how to collect your sample.

Self-collection is an option. You can choose either self-collection or clinician-collection for your Cervical Screening Test.

You can continue to have your Cervical Screening Test done by your chosen healthcare provider using a speculum examination.

If you think you may have difficulty collecting a vaginal sample by yourself and would prefer a sample be collected without the use of a speculum, you can also ask your healthcare provider to help you do a self-collected Cervical Screening Test.

Healthcare providers play a critical role in supporting patients with cervical screening, including for self-collection.

If you choose self-collection you will be given a private space to collect the sample, for example behind a curtain or in a bathroom.

Having a healthcare provider involved in the process is important because they can:

• explain how to collect the sample
• give you support or help in collecting the sample (if you need and want it)
• organize and explain your results
• support you with any follow-up appointments you may need
• answer any questions you may have

The Cervical Screening Test detects HPV before it has the chance to develop into abnormal or cancerous cells. HPV can be detected from inside the vagina, so there is no need to access the cervix.

Your healthcare provider can give you the support you need to ensure that the test is performed correctly.

The health professional will ideally explain the difference between self-collection and a clinician-collected speculum examination. When patients lack mobility, a clinician can assist with the vaginal sample and use a swab. We have also found that people with large body sizes may find it difficult to take their own samples and may need assistance.

Self-collect HPV PCR test and self-collection kit with flocked swabs (Copan FLOQ swab 552C or 553C.80) can be ordered from LWE Pathology.

Yes, self-collected samples are as accurate as clinician-collected specimen for the detection of CIN2+.

If HPV Types 16 or 18 are detected – and they are responsible for 70-80% of cancers – then the patient needs to be referred to a specialist for a colposcopy, regardless of the collection method. We expect to detect Types 16/18 in around 2% of patients, and other types of HPV will be detected in 6-8% of patients. 

Detection of the other HPV types is highly age-dependent, with detection more likely in younger patients. For those who had a clinician-collected cervical sample, the next step would be for the lab to do reflex Liquid-based cytology (LBC) to determine whether immediate referral is required or if a repeat test in a year is required.

Those who have collected their own sample will be advised to return to a health professional for a clinician-collected cervical test to LBC.

Self-collection should not be used in any setting where a co-test (both an HPV test and LBC, regardless of the result of the HPV test) is indicated. This includes anyone who has symptoms that might suggest the presence of cervical cancer, such as postcoital, intermenstrual or post-menopausal bleeding, or unexplained, persistent or unusual vaginal discharge, anyone currently undergoing test of cure following treatment for high-grade intraepithelial lesions or anyone who has ever been treated for adenocarcinoma in situ.