Therefore, I'd assume that the decision that it's not worth doing the examination should take priority over the numerical estimate that he made up after you asked.

It seemed to me that the proposition was made under false assumptions. Specifically, I value my life way more than most people do, and I value the costs of time/money/pain less than most people do. He seemed to have been assuming that I value these things in a similar way to most people.

But people tend to avoid this sort of discussion because it is very emotionally-loaded. So we mainly mumble around the topic.

Yeah, I understand this now. Previously I hadn't thought enough about it. So given that I am willing to spend money for my health, and that I can't count on doctors to presume that, it seems like I should make that clear to them so they can give me more personalized advice.