'Comfortable' test is here
A recently-developed "more comfortable" Pap smear procedure has been introduced in Woy Woy.
Dr Janette Royal at Woy Woy General Practice Centre is one of the first doctors on the Central Coast to be trained in using the new system.
The system increases patient comfort by using gentle filtered airflow rather than sharp blades to gain internal expansion and access to the cervix, said Dr Royal.
It also provided internal illumination and magnification to improve a doctors visual capabilities when taking smears and conducting gynaecological examinations.
"Unlike the traditional method of using a 'duckbill' speculum, the (new) speculum, which is inserted into the body, is only about an inch in length and is not as invasive," said Dr Royal.
"Every day an Australian woman dies of cervical cancer so lets hope the advantages provided by this system will encourage more women to participate in the national cervical cancer screening program."
One third of Australian women remain unscreened for cervical cancer.
The new procedure has been rated "more comfortable" by 94 per cent of women trialled in research conducted by the Sydney Centre for Reproductive Health Research of the Family Planning Association of NSW.
The new system, marketed as the Veda system, has been developed by the Australian medical device company, SSH Medical.
Press release, February 27