June is national men’s health month.
This week is Men’s Health Week 2021, a time to not only raise awareness of health conditions but also focus on treatment side effects, mental wellbeing and tackling the taboo.
It isn’t always a top priority, but health officials say a yearly checkup should be on everyone’s to do list.
“A lot of individuals, men included, have the idea well if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, or I feel fine, I don’t have any time. Probably one of the best ways to think about it is if you’ve bought a new car, you’re gonna change the oil. If you don’t change the oil for a year, five years, ten years the car still gonna run but when it comes right down to it, bad things are gonna happen.”
The main topics in men’s health include prostate cancer. Prostate cancer affects men and we have about 30 to 35,000 new cases per year. Prostate cancer is slow growing and it actually accounts for 10% of the cancer related deaths in men. Another topic in men’s health is testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is relatively rare, about 9,000 cases per year reported. Unfortunately, it affects men in the younger age group of 20 to 35.
A research in United Kingdom surveyed over 350 men with prostate cancer and found the following
- 86% of men receiving treatment for prostate cancer experienced erectile dysfunction, and 79% suffered a loss of libido. However, only 1% of men surveyed felt most comfortable talking about side effects and mental health with their friends.
- Erectile dysfunction is one of the most common side effects, affecting 86% of men, followed by loss of libido (79%). Of those who experienced a loss of libido, almost half (42%) said their sex drive had “completely diminished” as a result.
- Almost three quarters (73%) of those surveyed suffer with incontinence, with 61% saying it affected their quality of life.
- These side effects can lead to a loss of confidence and feeling emasculated, and over a quarter of men (26%) said changes associated with their physicality have directly affected their mental health.
- Despite this, men feel uncomfortable talking about their side effects and mental health to the people they have the closest personal relationships to, with only 2% feeling most comfortable discussing the topic with family and even fewer (1%) with friends.
Treatment options for prostate cancer include surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy. These can have temporary or sometimes permanent side effects such as incontinence or erectile dysfunction.
Living for many years with cancer and potential treatment side effects can take a toll on men’s mental wellbeing and managing the side effects can be difficult to cope with.
As we celebrate 2021 International Men Health Week, we advise all men to follow a heart healthy, calorie controlled. Current recommendation is for men to get exercise 30 minutes up to 5 times a week. Even in addition to if they have an active or vigorous work schedule. We encourage them to keep up with their immunizations and we get them to try to pay attention to their life, their lifestyle and their activities.”
If you’re in need of a checkup, you’re encouraged to contact your primary care provider.
Trust You are Blessed!
Stay Connected For the Part 2
