A survey of athletic trainers as health care advocates for testicular and breast self-examination in athletic populations

There have been no previous studies of athletic trainers' educational practices regarding breast or testicular cancer, so we surveyed athletic trainers regarding: 1) the incidence of cancer among athletes, 2) educational practices concerning breast/testicular cancer, 3) educational practices regarding breast/testicular self-examination, 4) breast/testicular concerns of athletes, 5) breast self-examination and testicular self-examination among athletic trainers. A researcher-developed questionnaire was randomly distributed to athletic trainers at the 1994 NATA convention, and SPSS-X was used to analyze results, using Chi-square. One alarming finding was that 28% of athletic trainers surveyed had worked with an athlete who had cancer. Twenty-two percent of the athletic trainers surveyed reported that a female athlete had brought a breast concern to them, and 51% reported that a male athlete had brought a testicular concern to them. Most of the athletic trainers surveyed do not educate athletes about breast or testicular cancer and do not teach athletes about self-examination procedures, but do perform breast self-examination or testicular self-examination on themselves. Acting as a role model is an important step toward the education of athletes in our care, but more must be done. As health care professionals, athletic trainers must become more proactive, rather than reactive, when dealing with cancer prevention.