Latest news with #TealWand
Boston Globe
02-06-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
At-home health tests are here. But they aren't always the best option.
Here's what doctors say you can test for at home, and when you should make the trek to your physician's office. What kinds of at-home tests are available? There are two kinds at 'at-home tests.' In one type, the patient collects the sample and sends it off to a lab; the new cervical cancer test is like this. Advertisement The other gives an instant result — think COVID-19 and pregnancy tests. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up What are the benefits of at-home tests? HIV home-testing kits can improve rates of diagnosing sexually transmitted infections in rural communities and help people who are nervous about going to the doctor to seek a sensitive test, said Dr. Joseph Cherabie, an infectious diseases specialist in St. Louis. 'You really want to get people to care as quickly as possible, but some people could be very anxious about that results as well,' Cherabie said. 'And they have very negative reactions.' Labs are required to report a positive HIV test, instead of putting the onus on the patient who took the test, Cherabie said, and and, often, the patient is matched up with HIV support services. Advertisement 'If you are part of a sexual and gender minority community, going to a doctor's office can be full of a lot of historical trauma, and you may prefer to just do testing at home without anyone judging you or asking you invasive questions about your sex life,' Cherabie said. The new cervical cancer test — which tests for strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV — involves a testing swab that's like a tampon, said Dr. Susan Modesitt, a gynecologic oncologist at Emory University in Atlanta. It is not, Modesitt said, a replacement for a Pap smear, the exam in which a metal speculum is inserted in the vagina to scrape cervix cells. A doctor's visit also involves a pelvic exam, a chance to talk about abnormal bleeding — a sign of endometrial cancer — and other symptoms and issues, like menopause or STIs. 'There are so many other reasons to see your doctor and get an exam outside of a cervical cancer screening,' she said. This photo provided by Teal Health in May 2025 shows the company's Teal Wand self-collection device for at-home cervical cancer screening. Nicole Morrison/Associated Press I live in a rural area — can I take an at-home test? Some at-home tests can replace a trip to the doctor's office. That's especially true in rural areas, where it can be difficult to get a colonoscopy. 'The colonoscopy requires a pre-op, and you have to drive maybe 70 miles for it,' said Dr. Steven Furr, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians who practices in rural Alabama. 'You get anesthesia. It's actually almost like a surgical procedure in many ways. 'So, for a lot of people, that's pretty arduous. That's where an at-home test can come in handy.' But, Furr said, if your test reveals issues, you need to go to your doctor. Plus, patients should always discuss test results with their physician instead of interpreting them on their own, he said. Advertisement Who shouldn't do at-home tests? If you have symptoms of what you're testing for, go to the doctor. At-home colon cancer tests aren't the right option for people with a history of colon cancer or high-risk conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, said Dr. Zachariah Foda, a gastroenterologist at Johns Hopkins. He added that they're also not recommended for people who are having GI symptoms. While there are tests for many things — running anywhere from $15 to $400, depending on what is being evaluated — Furr said it's essential to make sure that your test is FDA-approved so you can better trust the results. 'Anytime we get people involved in their own health care and help them understand what's going on, I think that's a good thing and it gives us a chance to talk,' he said. 'Any kind of screening is better than no screening.'
Sinar Daily
17-05-2025
- Health
- Sinar Daily
US approves first at-home cervical cancer screening device
Users request a kit online, have a brief visit with a telehealth provider to gauge eligibility and then the kit is prescribed. They then collect the sample and ship it to a lab for analysis. 17 May 2025 05:00pm This undated handout image obtained on May 9, 2025, courtesy of Teal Health, shows the Teal Wand, an at-home cervical cancer screening device approved by the FDA. (Photo by Nicole Morrison/Teal Health/AFP) WASHINGTON - The US Food and Drug Administration has approved an at-home cervical cancer screening tool as an alternative to Pap smears by a gynecologist, the company behind the device said recently. The "Teal Wand" -- a self-collection vaginal swab shaped like a tampon and developed by Teal Health -- will be available online for individuals aged 25 to 65 who are at average risk for cervical cancer. Users request a kit online, have a brief visit with a telehealth provider to gauge eligibility and then the kit is prescribed. They then collect the sample and ship it to a lab for analysis. Cervical cancer, which affects the lower part of the uterus, is diagnosed in about 0.6 percent of women. Although HPV vaccination and regular screening are highly effective at preventing the disease, more than one in four women fall behind on routine appointments. "When we make care easier to get, we help women stay healthy, for themselves and for the people who rely on them every day," Teal Health CEO Kara Egan said in a statement. The Teal Wand tests for high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer. A large clinical trial found its accuracy comparable to a traditional Pap smear, which requires a speculum and is often cited as a barrier to screening due to discomfort. Most sexually active people will contract HPV at some point, though only a small fraction develop cancer. Teal Health did not disclose pricing but said it is in talks with insurers to ensure affordability. The product will launch first in California in June. - AFP More Like This
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Selena Gomez Is Not A Billionaire. Plus: Stop Overthinking
This is this week's ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings news about the world's top female entrepreneurs, leaders and investors straight to your inbox. Click here to get on the newsletter list! Late last week, the FDA granted approval to something that could change the paradigm for cervical cancer screening in the U.S.: It greenlit the Teal Wand, an at-home HPV screening device from Teal Health. Following the announcement, I spoke with Kara Egan, the cofounder and CEO of Teal Health, about what exactly this means for how women get screened for cervical cancer—and when her device will be available commercially. 'The clinical study results show we have the same accuracy as the doctor-collected samples,' Egan explained. Plus, she said, '94% of women in our clinical trial said they prefer this to the standard of care.' (AKA, the invasive and often painful pap smear.) Egan said that she and her team at Teal are getting ready to launch commercially in June, starting in California, and she hopes other states quickly follow. Gallup data shows that some 72 million women have skipped or delayed a preventative healthcare test, and Egan's own research through Teal had similar findings. 'While there are definitely populations that are less likely to be screened—uninsured are near 40% less likely to be on top of their screenings—what we found was it was near-universal: One in four women are behind on their screenings.' Egan and I also talked a bit about the entrepreneurial inspiration behind Teal, and how her background in healthcare investing helped her build the company with her cofounder. You can check out the full conversation here! Cheers! Maggie BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 2: Selena Gomez attends the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar After Party Arrivals ... More on March 3, 2025 at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Robert Smith/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) In September 2024, Bloomberg reported Selena Gomez' net worth to be $1.3 billion thanks to her makeup line, Rare Beauty, which was founded in 2019 and launched in 2020. Multiple media outlets have since called the 32-year-old Gomez a billionaire as well. Based on Forbes' reporting, Gomez is very wealthy, but estimated to be worth roughly $700 million. This figure still ranks the former Disney Star among the wealthiest self-made female entrepreneurs in the country—and one of the richest celebrities—but the breakdown of her fortune helps explain why she may be somewhat limited in how much money she can or is willing to sink into Wondermind, the mental health startup that in recent weeks has missed payroll and laid off two-thirds of its staff. American tennis player Coco Gauff during the Italian Open of tennis at Foro Italico. Rome (Italy), ... More May 14th, 2025 (Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images) Forbes released its annual list of the world's highest paid athletes on Thursday, and for the second consecutive year, no woman lands among the world's top 50. Serena Williams was the last to do it, in 2023—her sixth appearance on the list in nine years—but she has settled into retirement and is no longer eligible. Here's why not even Coco Gauff made this year's final cut. Touchland, a buzzy hand sanitizer and body spray brand founded by Andrea Lisbona and launched in 2018, announced Monday that it has been acquired for up to $880 million by personal care conglomerate Church & Dwight. The deal includes $700 million at closing and another $180 million contingent on Touchland's 2025 net sales. (Trailing twelve month sales as of March 31 hit $130 million, the company says.) 'Everything would be better if we blew open the model of what good leadership looks like,' says founder and executive Amanda Litman, whose new book, When We're in Charge: The Next Generation's Guide to Leadership, came out this week. Litman spoke to ForbesWomen contributor Marianne Schnall about the book's launch and how the next generation of leaders can transform outdated leadership models and workplace cultures to lead in new ways. A last-minute proposal on the sale of public land from House Republicans during budget negotiations could have negative ramifications for the communities nearest the parcels that could be privatized, says Jennifer Novak, an environmental lawyer. Novak spoke to ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath on "Forbes Newsroom" about the proposal and what it could mean for communities near public land in the long term. 1. Break free from over-thinking. Opportunities to overthink are endless. The good news is that there are some strategies we can all use to break the cycle of over-thinking. One that sounds particularly intriguing? Schedule your 'worry time.' 2. Own the power of your own brand. Melissa Ben-Ishay, cofounder and CEO of cupcake chain Baked by Melissa, didn't initially want to be the CEO of her own company. She spoke to ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath about how she tapped into her inner confidence and built the skills she needed to become not just founder and creative, but chief executive. 3. Make friends in your 40s. Some 53% of American adults report having between one and four close friends, and 8% say they have no close friends. If you want to build a stronger inner circle, here are some proven strategies that work. More than a decade of air traffic control staffing issues have been coming to a head recently, particularly at Newark Liberty International Airport where hundreds of flights were disrupted following multiple communications outages between air traffic control and pilots. Which major U.S. airport also reported communications issues this week? Check your answer.
Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Cervical cancer screening at home? US FDA approves kit. Why is this significant?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a first of its kind use-at-home cervical cancer screening tool. Known as 'Teal Wand,' it allows women to collect their vaginal sample at home and send it to the lab for detection of the cervical cancer-causing Human Papillomavirus (HPV). It is less painful than the invasive Pap smear test. The Pap smear detects abnormal cells in the cervix (narrow end of the uterus connected to the vagina), which can indicate cervical cancer or precancerous changes. However, many women find this test uncomfortable or painful due to the insertion of a metal speculum and the scraping of cells.. The US device comes with a brush. So no need to put off pelvic examinations. A US study showed that the at-home cervical cancer screening test is as accurate as a clinical test (96 per cent accuracy) and is preferred by 94 per cent of women. According to Dr Smita Joshi, a senior scientist at Prayas Health Group, 'Worldwide two out of three women have never been screened in their lifetime and hence improving the screening coverage is important. Self-sampling can help reach the never screened or hard to reach population.' This gap is the reason why women in low-and middle- income countries have the highest cervical cancer burden. In India, such home collection of samples is still rife with challenges. 'For instance, the logistics of shipping the samplers to the women, ensuring that they understand why this screening is important, correctly following the instructions and collecting the sample are still complex tasks for rural women,' Dr Joshi observed. However, this can also be done with the help of healthcare personnel in remote areas till the women become aware and capable of doing this by themselves, she feels. Dr Joshi and her team have evaluated if the self-sample collected by the home-grown CERVICHECK kit yields the same test report as that of the clinician-collected cervical sample. The study was conducted in Pune and Baroda with 156 women participants and showed almost similar accuracy results as the clinician's test. The kit contains an instruction manual, a biohazard bag for keeping the sample and the device itself. It comes as a tube encasing a cytobrush with a piston. Once the tube is inserted in the vagina, one has to rotate the knob clockwise. This pushes the brush deeper inside to collect tissue samples. Once done, the brush is dropped into the collection bag. The women participants rated the self-sampling kit and found its convenience, ease-of-use, comfort and painlessness at 90 per cent and above. The World Health Organisation's (WHO) envisages cervical cancer screening of 70% of women at least twice in their lifetime, once at 35 and again at 45. 'Although HPV vaccination of adolescent girls will help in reducing cervical cancer incidence in low- and middle-income countries by more than 85 per cent over the next century, adult women, who do not benefit from preventive HPV vaccines, need immediate cervical cancer screening and appropriate management of pre-cancers,' Dr Joshi said.
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
First at-home test to screen for cervical cancer approved by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Teal Health to provide the nation's first at-home test kit to screen for cervical cancer. The Teal Wand, which will be available for those age 25 to 65 at average risk, tests for human papillomavirus, or HPV, a virus that causes most cervical cancers. Teal Health CEO Kara Egan didn't say how much the test would cost. Egan anticipates the test will be covered by insurance. They will first be available in California in June and then expand nationwide. Until now, the only way to screen for cervical cancer was in a doctor's office during a pelvic exam. 'As a mom and a woman, I get how easy it is to put your own health last,' Egan said in a news release. 'That's why this FDA approval means so much; it's not just about an innovative new product, it's about finally giving women an option that actually makes sense for their lives -- something that can be done quickly and comfortably at home. Because when we make care easier to get, we help women stay healthy, for themselves and for the people who rely on them every day.' Because of the invasive aspect, the company found 1 in 4 women in the United States are behind in testing. Dr. Emeline Aviki, a gynecologic-oncologist at New York University Langone Health, who worked on initial studies, told CNBC: 'It's not a fun exam and it's the easiest thing to cancel.' She worked on early studies to validate the new test. In a Teal Health study, 86% of participants thought they would more likely stay up-to-date with cervical cancer screening if they could do it at home. And 94% said they would prefer to self-collect at home if it were accurate. In the new vaginal swab, a speculum is used and samples of cells are collected from the cervix. Last year, the FDA approved a similar swab, also performed by patients themselves, that's collected in a doctor's office. 'What's different about this new indication is that this sample can be collected at home and not in a medical setting,' Dr. George Sawaya, a gynecologist at University of California San Francisco Health, told CNBC. You have to logically believe that would increase access if people's main barrier was getting to a medical setting.' Patients can order the test kit after a telehealth appointment with a doctor. The swab is then mailed to a lab for analysis. The product initially must be prescribed by one of Teal Health's virtual providers. If there is a positive test, women may need additional tests in a doctor's office. The American Cancer Society estimates that 13,360 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year and about 4,320 women will die. 'Cervical cancer incidence rates decreased by more than half from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s because of widespread screening uptake,' ACA said. Cervical cancer mortality rates also dropped by more than half since the mid-1970s. The study found the test detects cervical precancer 96% of the time. 'As a Principal Investigator in the SELF-CERV trial, I saw firsthand how receptive and excited women were to use the Teal Wand,' Dr. Christine Conageski, associate professor, OB-GYN and director of the Complex Dysplasia Clinic at the University of Colorado, said in the company's news release. 'Cervical cancer is largely preventable, yet screening rates in the U.S. continue to lag, and the FDA approval of this at-home Teal Wand self-collection device is a critical step forward. It offers an evidence-based way to expand access without compromising accuracy.' She noted women must do more than be tested. 'But access is only part of the solution,' she said. 'Comprehensive screening must go hand in hand with structured, reliable follow-up.' Last year, researchers found a new urine test might help doctors more easily screen for cervical cancer. The test looks for proteins generated by a type of cancer-causing human papillomavirus, HPV 16. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
