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.
According to the World Health Organization, 99% of cervical cancer cases are linked to HPV infections. Primary HPV tests are the most sensitive tests recommended by the American Cancer Society and the US Preventive Services Task Force for cervical cancer screening.
According to Teal Health, the Teal Wand uses the Roche cobas Primary HPV test, which is the same test your doctor would use. Teal’s national clinical trial also concluded that “self-collection using the Teal Wand is as accurate as going into the clinic where a provider collects the sample using a speculum and tests for HPV.” The Teal Wand is simply a different way of collecting the sample.
Who can use the Teal Wand?
There are three types of cervical cancer tests: Primary HPV testing every five years, Pap tests every three years and co-tests that combine both an HPV test with a Pap test every five years.
According to the ASCCP’s guidelines, Primary HPV testing through self-collection, which the Teal Wand uses, is suitable for people at average risk for cervical cancer. Teal Health follows the American Cancer Society’s guidelines, which recommend HPV testing every five years for people aged 25 to 65 who have an intact cervix.
Note that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people between the ages of 30 and 65 get either an HPV test, a Pap test or both as a co-test. (This is different from the American Cancer Society’s recommendation, which starts at age 25 instead of 30.) If you’re considered at risk of cervical cancer, the CDC recommends that you start getting Pap tests as early as age 21.
For those over age 65, consult your doctor. You may not need to be screened anymore if you’ve received normal or negative results from at least three Pap tests or two HPV tests in the past 10 years, or if you’ve had your cervix removed during a total hysterectomy for noncancerous conditions like fibroids.
Regardless of how, it’s important to get screened regularly, even if you’ve been vaccinated against HPV. If you’re not sure which test is right for you, your doctor can help you decide.
Who shouldn’t use the Teal Wand?
Egan said that self-collection with the Teal Wand is not currently recommended for:
- patients with a history of cancer in the reproductive system
- patients with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
- patients with DES (diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic form of estrogen) exposure
- patients with immunosuppression
- patients who have had a treatment for cervical precancer, such as LEEP (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure) or cold knife cone
- patients who are pregnant or within six weeks of giving birth
Does the Teal Wand replace a Pap smear?
The Teal Wand is not the same as a Pap smear (cervical cytology). Instead of in-office, clinician-collected samples with a speculum, like you’d have with a Pap smear, Primary HPV screening allows for self-collected samples.
Teal describes a Pap smear as being less sensitive compared to HPV testing because it can only detect cell changes once they’ve happened, a potential sign that cancer is already present. That’s why Pap smears are performed more often than Primary HPV testing (every three years versus five years). On its own, a Pap also doesn’t test for HPV, which is the primary cause of almost all cervical cancers.
“Universally, a cervical cancer screening is often called a Pap smear, but Pap smear, along with the HPV test, are both types of tests for cervical cancer screening,” Egan said. “Screening for HPV using the Teal Wand is an alternative to screening in person.”
In other words, once you screen using the Teal Wand, you don’t need to do the test again in your doctor’s office. However, if your results are abnormal and positive for HPV, you may need to get additional in-person testing, such as a colposcopy or a Pap smear, to check for cell changes. Your Teal provider will advise you accordingly, per medical guidelines, based on the HPV type detected and your screening history.
While Teal Health aims to help people stay up-to-date on cervical cancer screening, it’s always recommended to continue yearly in-person preventive care visits.
How much does the Teal Wand cost? Can you use insurance?
With select insurance companies, the full at-home screening experience with telehealth consults is available for $99. Without insurance, it’s $249, but is eligible for HSA/FSA reimbursement.
Teal Health is currently working with the following insurance plans in California: Cigna, Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and United Healthcare. The company aims to expand its coverage and also provide financial assistance when needed.
When will the Teal Wand be available outside California?
Teal Health is planning to have the Teal Wand available across the US before the end of 2026.
What’s the goal with the Teal Wand?
According to Egan, Teal Health is on a mission to improve women’s healthcare experiences. Teal Health is also a member of the Cervical Cancer Roundtable, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the Biden Cancer Moonshot, a coalition of industry leaders working to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health concern in the US.
“By creating the option for a woman to screen for cervical cancer from the comfort of home and providing telehealth follow-up, Teal can increase access to this life-saving cancer screening, get more women screened and work toward eliminating cervical cancer in the US, as it is the only cancer nearly 100% preventable with proper screening,” said Egan.
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