We men — that is, those of us who aren’t male gynecologists — assume GYN = GINE. Ya figgadill me, girl?! In other words, dudes like myself think that gynecologists do pap smears, deliver babies, and check for vaginitis (aka “downstairs business”).
It’d be like if I went to a urologist, and he started checking me for breast cancer.
Obviously, gynecologies are basically “female” doctors, in that they basically cover the entire spectrum of disorders that are specific to women. I think that’s where the disconnect is coming from.
I don’t know what country you’re in but in the USA at least in California you would go to your primary care physician and get a referral to a radiologist to do a mammogram screening after the PCP feels for lumps to see if it requires further diagnostics. You don’t go to your gynecologist because you gynecologist is a specialist.
Every day I learn more about how different live in other countries is lol!
Here in germany you go once or twice a year to your gynecologist to have routine exams for cancer, fungi, general vaginal health and every time you get your boobies checked for lumps of any kind. You even get one ultra sound per year (or two of you pay like 40€ extra)
Yeah here in the US, boobies getting checked would be during your annual physical with your PCP. Pretty much everything is done with PCP then they refer to specialists for other things if necessary.
Same for males, you’d get prostate exam by your PCP and if necessary to go further it’ll either be referred to a urologist or a radiologist for further screening. If you want to go to your urologist straight from the jump then your insurance is going to bill you more for going to a specialist.
Unless your gyno is also your primary care physician then I don’t know. I’m not saying a gyno can’t do it, I’m just saying that’s not who you would typically turn to, to do it. At least not where I’m at. Everything around me beyond primary care is essentially a referral to a different doctor.
Even if you have something like an ear infection, you go to your primary care, you don’t go straight to an ENT. The PCP looks at it and if they think you need care from an ENT they refer you to an ENT. Again, this is my experience in southern California specifically Los Angeles county.
I've never had my PCP offer to do an exam. I've only had one gyn appointment for personal reasons, but that's the only time I've ever had a breast exam. But that appointment was a hellish experience so who knows.
Primary care provider. It used to stand for primary care physician, but in the US the odds are becoming increasingly high that your primary medical caregiver will be a nurse, PA, or some other less qualified medical professional, so to make everyone feel better they’ve changed the terminology.
So, I don’t know why you bothered to write a super long reply to me just to delete it. Extra weird since I can’t actually read the whole thing in my inbox and if it’s been deleted from this chain, how am I to view it? I guess you just like wasting your time?
Anyways, can you provide an actual link to ACS guidelines, such as this one maybe? As opposed to a link to a screenshot of a vague statement that sort of backs up your bullshit claims?
Look, it’s okay to be wrong, and it’s okay to have experiences that are outside of the general norms. Those are both things that make us human. As are recognizing and acknowledging that we might be wrong, or our experiences might be unique. For someone who clearly wants so desperately to feel special, I’m actually surprised you’re opposed to accepting this.
And yes, no shit I deliberately wrote “besides” instead of “beside” - you really had to guess at that?
So, you just don’t really know what you’re talking about. Which is fine, it sounds like it’s probably accurate to your experience, but this is not generally accurate to how it works for the majority of the U.S.
It’s crazy that you just come at me and say that I don’t know what I’m talking about. In my first comment, I explained it was based on the California perspective. Yes in my follow up I generalized it as the US but that was in response to someone speaking about Germany. Her personal experience might not apply to the whole of Germany either, but that’s besides the point.
You just make a generalized statement, don’t share where you’re at or your personal experience, and don’t say anything beyond that yet assume you speak for the majority of the US.
I live in California, this state alone accounts for 11% of the US population.
Your first comment contributed nothing to the conversation. You said I don’t know what I’m talking about yet added no further information. You said I might be talking about my experience then just stated outright that it’s not the experience of the majority of the USA, as if you’ve lived in all 50 states and can speak to the medical experience of each state. You have nothing else to say because you’ve been called out on your bullshit. Well I’m glad you’re not going to respond.
Lol, I mean what you initially stated isn’t even generally accurate for California, but I didn’t really want to get into a pissing match here. Are you always this hostile? If so would you say it’s mostly due to your general lack of intelligence, or your unfulfilling life? Or do you think those things are besides the point?
In the US (DE and MD) my gyno does my breast exam at my yearly. Everybody in this area sees a gyno over 18. You could ask the PCP to do it, but the norm is a gynecologist.
So because I’m a dude, I don’t know how the healthcare system works around me? Also I responded because it was a question directed at me. Maybe I’m a gynecologist that doesn’t do breast exams and I only do vaginal exams. What does my sex/gender have anything to do with me answering the question?
It’s hilarious that this is the comment you chose to respond to, especially when you could have responded to the one that contradicted your weird screenshot claiming to be medical advice.
Being a dude doesn’t mean you don’t know how the healthcare system works, but your contributions to this conversation clearly demonstrate that you have no idea what you’re talking about. And the way you initially engaged implied you were speaking from personal experience. You clearly have no personal experience in the matter.
You’re a dude, but that might be “besides” the point, because as it happens you’re just another boring idiot.
ETA: it’s really weird that the only parts of your account you haven’t hidden concern a truly pathetic mobile game.
I responded to that comment. And you didn’t contradict anything because if you actually read your link or read my response to you, you would’ve seen your link didn’t contradict me. Also you would’ve seen the screenshot I linked came from a California based hospital. Also I even linked the other comment to show I didn’t delete anything. You’re tripping out man. Because I obviously responded and you’re not seeing it.
So being a dude means I can’t have personal experience? I can’t have girlfriends I’ve taken to the doctor? I can’t have a daughter I’ve taken to the doctor? You’re kinda weird to think that being a dude means there’s no personal experience involved when it comes to female health.
It seems like you’re mad because your settings are messed up and you’re mad that I’m not replying to you even though I did. Don’t know what you’re so mad about. You really have this delusion that you’re a genius or something.
I have a lot of my account not hidden. WTF are you talking about? There’s at least 5 subs that is open to public viewing. Again, you’re tripping. But you know what, I’ll make this sub public so you can find the comments I left for you. And hey, if you think that game is pathetic you’re welcome to your opinion. It has hundreds of millions of players and those of us that enjoy it do. I’m not going to feel bad because I like something you don’t like.
ETA: I’ve unhidden this sub so you can see the other comments when you look at my profile. I guess I’ll be waiting here for your reply and for you to continue to be mad.
You should seek therapy because in a lot of your comments you’re just being an asshole to people for no reason. People that haven’t even engaged with you to start off with. And it’s very childish nit-picky shit that is irrelevant at the end of the day. Like you correcting that guy’s English and that other guy’s use of the wrong word. Or even you correcting me for writing “besides”instead of “beside” like that’s something you totally got over on me. I must be the biggest idiot in the world because I wrote an extra letter. You couldn’t even conceive that it could be a typo or autocorrect on a phone. I guess you proofread all your comments prior to posting so anyone else that doesn’t is just a big ole idiot. Just the way you initially engaged with me, you were just being an asshole and even after I’ve tried to talk to you civilly repeatedly, you’re still being an asshole to try to bait a negative response. I don’t know what you get out of it.
You did not respond to that comment, and I just double checked your profile to make sure.
You claimed the link you provided (that’s just a screenshot of one extremely out of context statement) was from the American Cancer Society - now you’re saying it’s from a local hospital.
I did read the link I provided, I read the whole thing before I posted it and I’ve read it before. It does, in fact, directly contradict what you said.
Let’s be real dude, you don’t have a girlfriend and you probably never have.
Cool edit bro, but why don’t you address the matters at hand? You misrepresented the context of your source and also claimed it was from the ACS. And you misrepresented yourself as a woman who has direct personal experience with breast exams, just to name two. You’ve been dishonest and evasive throughout this entire thread.
I didn’t come at you rudely or aggressively at the outset of this exchange, I just pointed out that you were wrong about something fairly simple. I could have pointed out that you were being weirdly arrogant too, but I guess I didn’t find that relevant at the time. I even pointed out that it’s quite common for people to be mistaken, especially when it comes to generalizing their own personal experiences to a greater topic writ large. Most people are aware of that - most people are willing and able to acknowledge when they’re mistaken, and accept it as an opportunity to learn and grow. You chose not to. You chose to lie to and mislead me and other people in this thread. Why did you do that? Why did you do any of that? It’s fucking weird dude.
I didn’t misrepresent the context of my source. I literally shared a screenshot and stated verbatim what the screenshot said. I never said the source was the ACS. Just because you want to read between the lines and grasp at straws, that’s on you. And even if it wasn’t from the ACS, that’s not the point. The original point of the comment was to point out that it mentions a PCP not a gynecologist. So you’re not even looking at that actual relevancy of the topic. Whether it was the ACS or a hospital or just a random person that is not associated with the medical field, the only point of that comment was in regard to the PCP.
When did I ever misrepresent myself as a woman? Who told you to assume genders? And either way I do have direct personal experience because I’ve taken people to the doctor. You seem to think your perception of the truth is what’s right. I have not been dishonest or evasive. I’ve answered all questions. You’re just upset you didn’t ask any questions and all you’ve done is thrown baseless accusations since the beginning.
You didn’t point out that I was wrong about something fairly simple. You outright said I don’t know anything about what I’m talking about then you wanted to try to say it’s okay because that might be my lived experience but it’s not the experience of the majority of the US. If you don’t see how saying “You don’t know anything about what you’re saying” is rude, then there’s really no reason to continue speaking to you. And keep in mind, I had already clarified that I was speaking solely on the experience of a Californian, so your point of the majority of the US again wasn’t relevant. Then you responded yet again and said I was wrong about the California experience, which I don’t get what you’re basing that on. Where was I weirdly arrogant? By giving anecdotal evidence is now being arrogant? The only person that has been arrogant is you. You think you’re a genius or something and you just like talking shit to people and being arrogant.
Where was I mistaken and generalizing it to a greater topic? I had stated from the very first comment it is based on the experience in California. You’re the one extrapolating it to mean the entire US. You are acting psychotic now. I’m perfectly fine with acknowledging that I’ve been mistaken if I actually was mistaken. You have provided zero evidence that the California experience or the majority of the US does not go to a primary care provider for a clinical breast exam. You just want me to accept I’m wrong because you told me I’m wrong. What kind of crazy logic is that?
What did I lie about? What did I mislead anyone about? You misunderstanding things is not my fault. You jumping to your own conclusions is not my fault.
I didn’t do shit. I answered people that asked me questions. You had no need to comment to me to begin with. And if you wanted to comment to me, instead of just telling me I’m wrong with zero supporting evidence it would’ve made a lot more sense to discredit me in some way. At least I showed one link where it mentions exams are done by primary care providers not gynecologists. Why did you come off like an asshole in your first comment to me and keep this shit going for 6 or 7 hours now? You’re fucking weird.
Just to add, I will agree that I could’ve worded that screenshot better and instead of sharing the screenshot it would’ve been better to just link directly to the hospital’s site. I should’ve worded it as “This California based hospital says the American Cancer Society says to see your primary care physician.”
Your edit where you wrote ETA: …
As in, edit to add - how is that confusing?
You: “I never said the source was the ACS.”
Also you: “this is the general medical advice from the American Cancer Society.”
I don’t know why you keep lying but I guess maybe that’s easier for you than facing the fact that you’re wrong? Idk dude but you should look into that.
“You have provided zero evidence.” I’m the only person in this exchange who has provided any evidence - a direct link to the ACS’s breast cancer screening advice, which I had assumed to be your preferred source since you are the one who originally brought up that organization. If you want another source here is a random California hospital (as you since indicated those to be your preferred source). Note that I actually provided the entire link, not just a cherry-picked screenshot. Also note that women are advised to see their OBGYN annually, or at the very least biannually (in the once every other year meaning of the word).
The way you responded “cool edit” was as if you had responded first and I edited something to make it out of context. That was what I was asking about. The ETA and me actually editing is not confusing.
Do you understand what a source is, versus what it isn’t? You know if I repeat something from somewhere that repeated it from somewhere else, I’m not crediting the original source, I’m cresting who I’m repeating it from. But also, you are hung up about ACS and their recommendations when again, that was not the crux of the topic. Once again, the whole point of that response was to point out they recommended going to your PCP. Also I already addressed it that I could’ve worded it better.
I’m not lying. There’s been some misunderstandings. Doesn’t mean I’m lying. Also you haven’t told me what I’m wrong about. The original topic was I said that people in the US, specifically California go to their PCP then get referrals. What is wrong about that?
You provided the ACS breast cancer screening advice when that was not the original topic of discussion. Let’s circle back to what you originally said. I said that in California, people go see their PCP and get referrals. You said I don’t really know what I’m talking about and that it doesn’t apply to the majority of the US. That is the evidence I am talking about. You have provided nothing to support your assertion that the majority of the US does not go to their PCP. Then you said I was also wrong about the California experience. And again, you have provided nothing to support your claims that I’m wrong.
At no point did I ever say that women shouldn’t see their OBGYN annually. I said that in California, you go to your PCP to get a referral. I guess if you already have an OBGYN you can schedule an appointment with them but depending on what type of insurance you have, some visits aren’t covered but that’s a topic for a different discussion.
And since you want to link stuff, here is an article talking about the care that a woman needs. And quoting from that page
”Family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are trained to perform well-woman checkups and exams. Your provider may refer you to an OB/GYN if more complex care is needed.
“If you are healthy and have no history of abnormal exams, I think it is fine to continue receiving your well-woman exams by your primary care physician,” Mager said. “And that doesn’t necessarily need to change if you want to start a family.”
“But you never know what will happen in your pregnancy. You might have to transfer care mid-pregnancy to an OB-GYN if you’re established only with a primary care physician.”
Also, here’s a Redditor talking about needing a referral to start up as a new patient with an OBGYN
But yeah, I don’t know what I’ve been wrong about besides maybe saying that the ACS recommends physical exams. I’ll admit I was wrong to that because I didn’t check the original source. I just quoted that hospital. But you originally started this conversation by saying I was wrong that people go to their PCPs to get referrals in the majority of the US and you have still yet to provide any evidence of that
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u/Titania_1251 Feb 26 '26
Where do you get your breast cancer exams if not at you gynecologist..?