Movember

So Movember isn't about just being manly, it's also an opportunity to raise any points that might help us men live a little healthier:

As men, we are told that we are genetically more likely to die from various diseases than women. Unfortunately (or should that be fortunately?) this is not the case. Many factors are actually more to do with our attitudes that our dna. I'm sure it's a similar story across the world but in the UK, women in our age group are twice as likely to go see a doctor than us men are. The top 10 reasons for us men not wanting to go are:

1. Sitting around - "they don't like the waiting time involved"
2. Health services are feminised - "the decor and bias of information towards women"
3. Embarassment - "Men are embarrassed to discuss intimate feelings and information"
4. No point unless there is something wrong - "Below 40 years of age, men only view doctors in terms of emergencies"
5. Men aren't socialized into visiting the doctor - "whenever men visit the doctors, they only see women and older people."
6. Suck it up' attitude - "men are socialized into internalizing their emotions and physical discomforts"
7. Defects are signs of weakness - "visiting doctors may signal illness or disability"
8. Fear of being judged - "their problem or physical state is something unique"
9. Men exaggerate the negative qualities of health provision - "men find the health care system inadequate, a waste of time."
10. Doctors aren't equated with preventive health - "at age 40, men generally have to see their doctor regularly. They realize the benefits of screening than waiting to happen."


Sadly, I can not stand up as a role model. I have never discussed cancer with my doctor, I remember something vaguely about checking yourself from school and the notion of a prostate exam is something I connect with the over 50 year olds.

People won't tell you what to do to keep you healthy. We don't stand around the bar discussing the best way to check your testicles for lumps (maybe that's not a bad thing). You need to go and find this out for yourself. Otherwise you are just waiting for something to go wrong, which is a really stupid idea when you think about it.


Links to answer your questions:
http://menshealth.about.com/od/diseases/u/concerns.htm - general concerns list
http://cancer.about.com/od/cancersaffectingmen/tp/menscancersign.htm

A statistic to finish up on. Testicular cancer normally affects men between 20 and 39. The survival rate is over 95%. Look after yourselves men.