Are there medical benefits to circumcision? Absolutely, lots of them! (Part 1: penile cancer) But the questions you should be asking are: 1) How large are these benefits? 2) Under what conditions are they seen? And 3) how do the benefits compare against the costs? If you believe what you hear in the media, it seems that circumcision increases your risk of penile cancer by 10 times or more. The absolute best source in information for refuting these claims is the circumcision studies themselves. If you actually take the time to read them you find the headlines are never accurate. Turns out, all the increased risk of penile cancer in intact men belongs to the 1% of them with phimosis. Now, today phimosis is so easily treated you don’t really even need a doctor. OK, a $5 prescription for a steroid cream fixes most of the cases, so an office visit with your primary care physician is needed. In the few tougher cases there are kits that help stretch the tight skin, and these are available for around $20. Circumcision is no longer needed in treating phimosis as modern techniques and medications have cheaply solved the problem. So what happens when phimosis is treated? Now, according to the AAP’s own statement, circumcision doubles the chance of penile cancer. That’s right: “In fact, in men with an intact prepuce and no phimosis, there is a decreased risk of invasive penile cancer (OR: 0.5).” Now, where is the headline that circumcision increases the risk of penile cancer? Don’t expect the media to give accurate information; their job is to please the corporate sponsors. When we consider how rare penile cancer is (1 in 100,000) we actually wonder why it was ever mentioned at all. savingsons.org/2013/07/circumcision-to-prevent-penile-cancer.html
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 22:51:56 +0000
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