Re: Undressing for medical examinations:

From: David Rind (drind_at_caregroup.harvard.edu)
Date: 03/20/05 

Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2005 18:04:06 -0500

bae@cs.toronto.no-uce.edu wrote:
> 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.

I believe testicular cancer is the most common cancer cause of death in
men under age 35, however, despite that, it is a relatively rare cancer,
is usually curable, and is not one of the common causes of death in
young men.

There is no good evidence that yearly testicular exams by a physician or
self testicular exams are of any benefit. The US Preventive Services
Task Force recommends against such screening. I think the reason
screening for testicular cancer became "popular" with pamphlets and the
like was that people felt like there should be some male equivalent of
screening for breast cancer. (Not that there's any evidence that self
breast exams are of benefit, but at least it's a very common cancer in
women.) 

-- 
David Rind
drind@caregroup.harvard.edu