If you've ever had a Pap smear, you know how uncomfortable a cervical cancer screening can be, especially from inside a cold, clinical doctor's office.
Cervical cancer is highly preventable with routine screening. To provide people with a cervix a comfortable and private screening option, women's health company Teal Health developed the Teal Wand, the first and only at-home vaginal sample self-collection device for cervical cancer screening in the US.
Following its FDA approval in May, the Teal Wand is now available in California. Here's how it works and where you can get one.
How does the Teal Wand work?
"The Teal Wand is a self-collection device in which the collected sample is mailed to a lab to test for high-risk HPV using an FDA-approved Primary HPV test," said Kara Egan, Teal Health's CEO and co-founder, via email.
The Teal Wand requires a prescription, which you can get through Teal Health on getteal.com. First, you fill out a medical eligibility questionnaire, order a screening kit and schedule a 10-minute virtual visit with a Teal provider. (You can see the OBGYNs and nurse practitioners on Teal's team here.) During the appointment, the provider will review your screening history and discuss the process. After the prescription is approved, a kit will be shipped directly to your home.
Collecting your sample at home only takes a few minutes. Print and video instructions can help guide you, and Teal support can answer questions. When you're done, simply package your sample and ship it to a CLIA-certified lab with the materials provided. (CLIA, or Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, are regulations requiring any facility examining human specimens, like tissue, blood and urine, for diagnosis, prevention or treatment purposes, to be certified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.)
After the lab processes your sample, a Teal provider reviews the results in accordance with the screening guidelines defined by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP). You'll receive results in your secure Teal portal within about a week after sending your sample. You'll be given the opportunity to virtually connect with a Teal provider to discuss any next steps. If follow-up care is needed, the Teal team will coordinate your referral.
What does the Teal Wand test for?
Just like in the clinician's office, your sample is tested for 14 types of high-risk HPV (Human Papillomavirus) that present the highest risk of causing cervical cancer, Egan said.
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