re: How do you select a primary care physician?

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All this talk about prostate exams.

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Because some cancers are slower than others.

You do a colonoscopy every 5 years because it is slow and that type screening should catch it and make it survivable.

Seems you do prostate (men) and breast (women) yearly as they are more aggressive and you don't want to give them an extended foothold. I know several women around me who are current survivors because they caught it early. I think the average for women is 10% to 20% of the overall American population (which seems low) but it is because it increases with age. I think between age 30 and age 60 it goes up by a decimal place, so at 30 it may be 1 in 100, by 60 it will be 1 in 10.

From memory it seems prostate was 2/3's fatal it detected late but 1/30 fatal with early detection. For an exam that is fairly quick, seems well worth it to change the odds greatly in your favor.

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It elevates prostate exams to a new level.

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Not sure it really matters

A) your arse is facing them not your face
B) A finger in your arse is still a finger in your arse

I am just not a finger in my arse kind of guy.

Depends if you just need one for a referral or you need one for routine checkups, etc. for years to come. If #2 is the case, get all the information you can like reviews on the PCP.

You clipped the most important part of my post, "If you aren’t high risk, why would you consent to one or a PSA for that matter?" The intended takeaway was that prostate screening should not be routinely performed anymore, and that obviously sounds wrong to you, so you might want to research current thinking on the subject, e.g.

American Cancer Society Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Early Detection

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The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that men have a chance to make an informed decision with their health care provider about whether to be screened for prostate cancer. The decision should be made after getting information about the uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of prostate cancer screening. Men should not be screened unless they have received this information. The discussion about screening should take place at:

Age 50 for men who are at average risk of prostate cancer and are expected to live at least 10 more years.

Age 45 for men at high risk of developing prostate cancer. This includes African Americans and men who have a first-degree relative (father, brother, or son) diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age (younger than age 65).

Age 40 for men at even higher risk (those with more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age).

After this discussion, men who want to be screened should be tested with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. The digital rectal exam (DRE) may also be done as a part of screening.

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In a nutshell, the screening tests suck, and a positive result means considering treating something that probably will never matter anyway, even if it's a true positive, because the cancer usually grows so slowly. If the worry and expense of following up weren't bad enough, the various treatments carry the risk of some very troublesome side effects.

Bottom line is if your doctor doesn't discuss the pros and cons of prostate testing before ordering PSA or performing a digital exam, he's doing you a disservice.

fricking millennials can't do shite I swear

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Why waste half a day to see some great doctor for a common physical or when you get a sinus infection?

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Discount Doctor. Kind of like discount sushi.

I want my doctor to at least diagnose the sinus infection.

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Mine holds it the entire time. Sounds like you go to a quack.

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If this was a joke, god on ya.



If it was not, the two methods I am \familiar with are:
DRE aka digital (the docs finger) rectal exam
PSA aka blood test (no need to grab your prick, just need to prick you)




As to the other poster, while rates may be low, I view any checkup (be it for your car or your home or your person) as preventative more than a low odds thing. I have seen far to many friends drop dead from things that could be prevented if caught earlier and they had not been so against it thinking they would not be the one.

Who do you recommend old man?

So what’s the typical wait for this kind of thing? Been here 45 minutes. They happily took my money the second I walked in but I’m still in the main waiting room.

Not even sick. Just trying to get a physical exam and discuss some sleeping issues.

My doc is a board certified Family Physician and is excellent. If you are basically healthy or just have a few medical problems, they are the way to go. if someone has chronic illnesses or are in failing health, the internist may be more a fit for that type of patient.