Cervical cancer screening can now include “self-swab” HPV tests, according to updated guidelines published Thursday by the American Cancer Society.

The change, experts hope, will encourage more women to undergo regular screening for the cancer by giving them an alternative to a speculum exam.

Testing for HPV, or human papillomavirus, has supplanted the Pap test as the preferred method for cervical cancer screening. Pap tests (also called cytology) involve collecting cells from a patient’s cervix during a pelvic exam, a process some women find uncomfortable and even painful.

“HPV is such a strong indicator of cervical cancer, we know now that screening for HPV is screening for cervical cancer. This gives more options to women,” said Jane Montealegre, an associate professor of behaviora

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