Testicular self examination — Knowledge of men attending a large Genito Urinary Medicine clinic

Abstract

Objective To elicit the level of knowledge, training and preferences of men in relation to Testicular Self Examination (TSE). Setting The Genito Urinary Medicine (GUM) department of a large teaching hospital in the North East of England. The open access clinic serves patients from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, Gateshead and surrounding areas. Newcastle is a city with two universities and therefore a large student population. We sought to estimate the current knowledge and practice of Testicular Self Examination amongst men attending a large Genito Urinary Medicine Clinic and ascertain whether they performed TSE, if they could articulate the signs or symptoms of testicular cancer, whether they felt instruction on TSE was necessary and who, if anyone, should provide training. This information was obtained using a simple questionnaire distributed to all new male patients attending GUM at Newcastle General Hospital, during a 12-week period in early 2006. Results demonstrated that only 67 (8%) of the men performed TSE as recommended in health education leaflets (monthly) with 576 (67%) carrying it out on a random basis. In total, 980 (98%) of the men felt that all men should be given instruction on TSE, with 59 per cent stating that school was the most appropriate place to receive the training.Whilst almost all men were aware that testicular lumps may be a sign of testicular cancer, few were able to identify any other potential signs or symptoms.

Attitudes Toward Testicular Cancer and Self-Examination Among Northern Irish Males

“…The international literature demonstrates that many men are unaware of their risk for testicular cancer, the signs and symptoms of the disease, or how to perform a self-examination as a tool for early detection ( Cronholm et al, 2009 ; Handy & Sankar, 2008 ; Ward, Vander Weg, Read, Sell, & Beech, 2005 ). Even men with greater knowledge of testicular cancer, from families that had two or more confirmed cases, or a single family member with bilateral testicular cancer, still had suboptimal self-examination practices ( Vadaparampil et al, 2009 ), indicating that knowledge alone is not enough to encourage regular self-exam.…”

Elderly Men’s Experience of Information Material about Melanoma—A Qualitative Study

“…A study by Grosch, Medvene and Wolcott [ 33 ] described that person-centered caregiving instruction based on a high level of interpersonal cognitive complexity, communication, and relationship-building skills, is one way to handle anxiety and other feelings when cancer is discussed. Moreover, men’s knowledge is changing due to their life experiences, which is a key point in person-centered care [ 34 , 35 ].…”

“…In order to provide educational guidance to do skin self-examination, a supplement about risk factors in the area of skin cancer is needed. Handy and Sankar [ 34 ] showed that men are willing and able to perform self-examination, but they need clear guidance and a variety of education tools to promote these health initiatives. According to this study, it is a challenge to educate elderly men about illness and the use of healthcare and social services due to a feeling of being an invisible population [ 41 ].…”

The awareness of testicular cancer among young males in the Lubelskie Region / Świadomość nowotworu jądra wśród młodych mężczyzn na Lubelszczyźnie

“…During regular checkups, patients in Poland, like in other countries, should be taught about the ways of preventing testicular cancer. A study conducted by Handy and Snakar in the United Kingdom revealed that 40% of the participants pointed to doctors as their source of knowledge, 30% mentioned school and 4% mentioned the Internet [13]. British men, along with their peers from Ireland and Hungary, take the lead when it comes to testicular cancer prevention.…”

“…Takie działania stanowią normę postępo-wania w innych krajach: w badaniach Handy' ego przeprowadzonych w Wielkiej Brytanii 40% uczestników potwierdziła znajomość techniki samobadania jąder nabytej od lekarza pierwszego kontaktu. Drugim wskazanym źró-dłem wiedzy okazała się szkoła (30%), podczas gdy Internet stanowił jedynie 4% odpowiedzi ankietowanych [13]. Wielka Brytania, Węgry oraz Irlandia to kraje, w których kładzie się największy nacisk na profilaktykę nowotworu jądra, jednak nie jest to zjawisko powszechne.…”