Re: Undressing for medical examinations:

bae_at_cs.toronto.no-uce.edu
Date: 03/20/05 

Date: 20 Mar 2005 17:45:26 GMT

In article <n9sp315ioso89vvetddusv3973trh4jgsb@4ax.com>,
PF Riley <pfriley@watt-not.com> wrote:
>On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 12:49:12 -0800, jason@nospam.com (Jason) wrote:
>>
>>PF,
>>I would not have any problems if the doctor that I mentioned had conducted
>>the testicular exam the way that you conduct testicular exams. I discussed
>>this issue with the doctor that failed to conduct a testicular exam. He
>>told me that since I was only 38 years old (at the time) that it was a
>>waste of time as a result of statistics. He said that he did not conduct
>>the exam until his patients were 50 years old or older.
>
>Well I certainly hope the he also conducts the exams in men under 30
>because he will may miss a case of testicular cancer at least once in
>his career if he doesn't.

IIRC, testicular cancer is the most common cancer, the most common
cause of death from cancer, and one of the most common causes of death
in men aged 20-40.

It's sometimes recommended that men check their testicles periodically,
just as women check their breasts, for suspicious lumps. You can get a
booklet, or find info on the net, about how to do it. It seems to me
that it should be part of the physical exam for young men. After all,
it's not expensive nor invasive nor very time-consuming and as Dr.Riley
says, could save a life. (I'm not a doctor.)

I wonder if the physician who spent several minutes examining this
poster's testicles may have been trying to determine whether what he
felt was abnormal enough to follow up or not. A doctor doesn't want
to needlessly alarm a patient, but this is a cancer that can be very
successfully treated if caught early, but very hard to control once
it spreads.

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