This is how they do testicular exams in Japan. Fortunately for those of us in North America we use a much gentler technique. Despite this fact, many of us are afraid that someone will spring a testicular exam on us. When I was 19 I went to a walk in clinic for an infection on my foot. While they focused primarily on the foot, before I knew it the doctor was playing game-boy with my nards. While it was a prudent thing to do, this sort of thing happens to be another obstacle that keeps us guys, particularly the younger ones, from seeing a doctor.
What you may not know is that testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men between the age of 15-35. There have been some high profile cases in the past decade or so including the NHL's current leading scorer Phil Kessel, comedian Tom Green (who televised his testicular removal), and most famously Lance Armstrong.
Testicular cancer also happens to have one of (if not the highest) cure rate of all the cancers you could end up with. With early detection, cure rates approach 100% and in more advanced cases cure rate is still in the 90% range. Lance Armstrong's story illustrates this well. When he was found to have testicular cancer, they had found it had spread to his lungs and brain. In pretty much any other type of cancer, metastases to the brain and lungs tend to have grim prognoses. After successful surgery and chemo (which works really well for testicular cancer), Lance went on to win another 6 Tours de France.
Testicular cancer typically presents as a painless mass in the testicle. It can also cause symptoms like a dull ache or heaviness in the lower stomach, scrotum, or groin area. Unless you're having complaints related to that region on your body, you won't likely be asked to drop trou. If you're in the 15-35 age range though, 30 seconds of testicular game boy could save your life.
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