Many Doctors Don't Teach Testicular Self-Exams
Monthly Self-Exams Recommended
POSTED: 3:04 p.m. EST March 3, 2003
A self-exam for testicular cancer takes maybe a minute to do and about that much time to teach, but most often, neither happens, according to a new study.
Dr. Joel Brenner (pictured, left) never taught testicular cancer self-exams until a close college friend developed the cancer.
The experience prompted him to choose the topic of self-exam for a lecture he gave to his fellow residents years ago.
"Before that, I was never taught about it. We don't get a lot of experience and education regarding male reproductive health," said Brenner, adolescent medicine and sports medicine specialist at the Medical College of Georgia.
The report, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, included information from an electronic survey completed by 129 pediatric residents at two teaching programs in the United States.
It showed that 29 percent of the male residents performed monthly self-exams and that 40 percent of all the residents taught the exam to their 12- to 21-year-old patients, said Brenner, who led the study.
Most male residents who didn't do their own self-exams said they simply forgot; the reasons they cited for not teaching it to their patients included a lack of time and not thinking about it, Brenner said.
"Testicular cancer is an important public health problem that needs to be addressed," Brenner said. "The only known risks are all predetermined; therefore, a focus on earlier diagnosis and treatment through (education and) regular testicular self-examinations is indicated."
The study also showed that 88 percent of the residents were taught how to teach breast self-exams compared to 41 percent who were taught how to teach testicular self-exams.
Testicular cancer has been on the increase, rising 42 percent in the past 25 years. Today it accounts for 20 percent of cancers diagnosed in males age 15 to 35, making it the most common cancer in that age group.
In addition to the target age group, risk factors include an undescended testes, family history, and being Caucasian -- the disease is five times more common in whites than in blacks.
The disease, which often presents as a painless mass, has a five-year survival rate of 96 percent overall; as with all cancer, the survival rate is significantly lower when the disease is diagnosed late, Brenner said.
"You do a couple of things by teaching testicular self-exam to adolescents and young adults," Brenner said. "One is, they might find something abnormal and they might also learn more about their bodies and become more responsible for their health."
Monthly self-exams are recommended particularly for those with one or more risk factors. But Brenner's survey of the two training programs, one in the Southeast and another in the Southwest, showed that less than one-half of the residents teach the techniques.
He said senior-level residents were four times more likely to teach self-exams than first-year residents: 51 percent compared to 21 percent. Also, 61 percent of the residents said they examined themselves at least every three months, compared to 29 percent who examined themselves monthly, as is recommended.
Dr. Joel Brenner (pictured, left) never taught testicular cancer self-exams until a close college friend developed the cancer.
The experience prompted him to choose the topic of self-exam for a lecture he gave to his fellow residents years ago.
"Before that, I was never taught about it. We don't get a lot of experience and education regarding male reproductive health," said Brenner, adolescent medicine and sports medicine specialist at the Medical College of Georgia.
The report, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, included information from an electronic survey completed by 129 pediatric residents at two teaching programs in the United States.
It showed that 29 percent of the male residents performed monthly self-exams and that 40 percent of all the residents taught the exam to their 12- to 21-year-old patients, said Brenner, who led the study.
Most male residents who didn't do their own self-exams said they simply forgot; the reasons they cited for not teaching it to their patients included a lack of time and not thinking about it, Brenner said.
"Testicular cancer is an important public health problem that needs to be addressed," Brenner said. "The only known risks are all predetermined; therefore, a focus on earlier diagnosis and treatment through (education and) regular testicular self-examinations is indicated."
The study also showed that 88 percent of the residents were taught how to teach breast self-exams compared to 41 percent who were taught how to teach testicular self-exams.
Testicular cancer has been on the increase, rising 42 percent in the past 25 years. Today it accounts for 20 percent of cancers diagnosed in males age 15 to 35, making it the most common cancer in that age group.
In addition to the target age group, risk factors include an undescended testes, family history, and being Caucasian -- the disease is five times more common in whites than in blacks.
The disease, which often presents as a painless mass, has a five-year survival rate of 96 percent overall; as with all cancer, the survival rate is significantly lower when the disease is diagnosed late, Brenner said.
"You do a couple of things by teaching testicular self-exam to adolescents and young adults," Brenner said. "One is, they might find something abnormal and they might also learn more about their bodies and become more responsible for their health."
Monthly self-exams are recommended particularly for those with one or more risk factors. But Brenner's survey of the two training programs, one in the Southeast and another in the Southwest, showed that less than one-half of the residents teach the techniques.
He said senior-level residents were four times more likely to teach self-exams than first-year residents: 51 percent compared to 21 percent. Also, 61 percent of the residents said they examined themselves at least every three months, compared to 29 percent who examined themselves monthly, as is recommended.
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