I had the digital examination at my Well Men's clinic a few years back at age 65, embarrassing with a young lady doctor but not painful at all. Put this into perspective chaps and imagine you are the doctor having to do it!!
This summer I got a suspected kidney stone and had a full body MR scan. I already passed the stone, but the consultant pointed out that my prostate had enlarged; the good news was my hip joints are superb! Tell you what, being passed half naked on a carriage through a giant metal donut, with someone yelling at you through a loudspeaker, in French, Don't breathe! Don't move! Don't look at the laser! was worse than the finger procedure! Enlargement is normal as you age and gives the symptom of more frequent [and often unnecessary] visits to the bathroom as the gland presses on your bladder. As long as the prostate remains smooth there is no problem. If it goes out of shape, knobbly, a cancerous growth may have started. That's what the doc feels for. If caught early, an operation will give a 100% cure. Left to its own devices, it will eventually grow to make surgery and a cure impossible, so
regular checks are vital. I'm taking Tamsulosine capsules which have practically cured the 'desperate for a khazi' syndrome. Mind you, in a country where taking a pipi anywhere you like is considered normal, it's not such a problem as in Blighty, where you'd get arrested for exposing yourself!
