self exam for testicles

hello, are men supposed to check themselves each month? i went to a urologist this past may since i was having some groin pain. he checked my testes and said they were fin, even had a negative cat scan of the region checking for stones and it was negative. i have done the self exam in the past too, and they always feel the same. even the other day when i checked. my question is, i feel a layer around the testes (which from diagrams and info. i read is called the epididymis or something) that can slip and move about the testes. i have always felt this "layer" in my checking. is that what that is and would a person pretty much know or have pain if they had a lump or something going on down there? any info. about this topic would be great.

[Ash Tewari, MD, M.Ch.]

Epididymis are a bunch of tubular structures which carry sperms from the testes and joins to form vas. These are present on the posterior and lateral aspect both the testes.

Although majority of disease situations in scrotum are associated with pain or discomfort (from dull ach to severe pain), some diseases may just present with painless swelling. Cancer of testes is one of the disease which may present with painless swelling of the testes.
It is a good practice to self palpate the testes during shower and look for any change in size.

AT

[mehta_nm]

A related discussion, Lump at the left testicle was started.