What's the point of a prostate exam? Prostate screening doesn't save life, and it causes harm. People may want to do it if they know they have risk factors, but otherwise it's not recommended.
https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recomme...
> For men aged 55 to 69 years, the decision to undergo periodic prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer should be an individual one. Before deciding whether to be screened, men should have an opportunity to discuss the potential benefits and harms of screening with their clinician and to incorporate their values and preferences in the decision. Screening offers a small potential benefit of reducing the chance of death from prostate cancer in some men. However, many men will experience potential harms of screening, including false-positive results that require additional testing and possible prostate biopsy; overdiagnosis and overtreatment; and treatment complications, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction. In determining whether this service is appropriate in individual cases, patients and clinicians should consider the balance of benefits and harms on the basis of family history, race/ethnicity, comorbid medical conditions, patient values about the benefits and harms of screening and treatment-specific outcomes, and other health needs. Clinicians should not screen men who do not express a preference for screening.
The advice for people 70 or older is stronger: The USPSTF recommends against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer in men 70 years and older.
> The USPSTF recommends against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer in men 70 years and older.
For the "why" read the PDF linked on this page: https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/documen...
> The problem of overdiagnosis has received an increasing amount of attention in the field of cancer screening. It is a particularly large issue for prostate cancer because prostate cancer can have a long period when it is detectable but asymptomatic. As early as the 1980’s, before the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for early detection of prostate cancer, overdiagnosis was recognized as an important issue for prostate cancer screening that used digital rectal examinations.1
> Individuals with cancer that is overdiagnosed do not benefit from having their cancer detected by screening but they suffer from the harms of evaluations done to establish that cancer exists and the harms of treatment for the cancer. The harms of treating prostate cancer can be both serious and common.2, 3 Even if individuals with screen-detected prostate cancer do not undergo treatment, they may suffer from anxiety and diminished well-being because of the cancer diagnosis and they may be burdened by the testing and interventions used to monitor the cancer. Uncertainties regarding the benefit of PSA screening in reducing prostate cancer mortality in randomized trials2 and evidence that the incidence of prostate cancer increased dramatically with the adoption of PSA screening,4- 6 have moved overdiagnosis to the forefront of discussions about whether and how to screen for prostate cancer.
You can replace that with many other exams or tests, and of course the necessities of any of them are all up for debate.
Mental conditioning over several decades is a legit concern.
Even if they have Medicare.
Try to get your old cranky uncle to go for yearly physical, much less a prostate exam. Some people refuse to take their heart medication, or insulin, etc.
My father in law had a mild stroke and refused to go back for his checkups after.
It’s tough to reason with them. Plenty of them can put off going in until they’re either forced to by relatives, or have an emergency. And a lot of times it’s too late by then.