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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lydia Spencer-Elliott

There’s finally a smear test alternative – but why has it taken so long?

Outdated: A speculum used in smear tests that was first invented in the 1840s - (Getty/iStock)

When I first looked at the news headlines this morning, my response was (sadly) unusual: “Yippee!”

Researchers have found that testing period blood for signs of cervical cancer could be an accurate way of screening for the disease. Read: no more having a speculum shoved into you by a stranger every five years (or more frequently) for the almightily invasive smear test. Hallelujah.

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