Have a Feel for Male Cancers
Female health care gets a lot of coverage. The pink ribbons and breast cancer marathons are impossible to miss, even sanitary towels star in bafflingly glamorous ad campaigns. Have a look on the WHO page and you’ll see there is a separate section specifically for women’s health. In itself of course this is no bad thing. But where is the men’s health page? Prostate and breast cancer are both leading causes of cancer related deaths according to WHO, but how many people actually know what the prostate is? Or that men can also get breast cancer? Every year in the UK, around 11,000 men die of prostate cancer alone and there are 1600 new cases of testicular cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 50. There are 35% more diagnoses of prostate cancer than breast cancer. There is just not enough awareness of male specific cancers and yet, they’re simple to prevent, easy to spot and have high survival rates so it’s time for the boys to catch up with the girls.
Men’s reluctance to talk openly about what is or isn’t going on down there could be in the way of improving awareness. Studies have shown men are less likely to self-examine or get health check-ups with the doctor about abnormalities. They were also less likely to be aware that they needed to self-examine. Surely then, men are precisely the demographic who need targeting by high profile health campaigns? The broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, diagnosed with prostate cancer last year and is having radiotherapy, said to the BBC ‘men are silly about their health. Get it checked out — it might be something else.’ The information about male health care is out there — often wrapped up with references to car engines and planes. Don’t be put off by the in-your-face machismo. If you love your genitals they’ll love you back, so have a feel for male cancers now! Well, maybe finish the article first. If you want to know about your cancer risk, and how you can prevent and spot cancer, I’ve put some links to some sites at the end of the article.
Cancer becomes a bigger problem if it starts to spread to other parts of your body. Also the sooner the caught the less, to put it delicately, dramatic the treatment, as well as these symptoms also being associated with other easily treatable diseases. By getting less information about the prevention of male cancer men are at risk of other more lethal cancers like lung and bowel cancer. So why does the recent MacMillan advert about the ‘coffee morning support group’ almost exclusively show women? Search ‘cancer’ in the health sections of most popular newspapers and magazines and you will be inundated with the latest breast cancer and cervical cancer research and self-checking tips, but prostate or testicular are often unmentioned. The health guide on the daily mail page includes a health calculator, a pregnancy guide, and ovulation calculator and a breast cancer checker, and a six week workout. None of these are aimed at men. Is this discouraging men from finding out and speaking out about male cancer?
Recently, happily, there has been an increase in fundraising and awareness for male specific cancers. ‘Stay healthy all you Mo Bros!’ is the message from Movember. There’s also Orchid, Prostate Cancer Foundation, Everyman and more that specialise in male cancers, in addition to Cancer Research, Macmillan, and others raising for all cancers. Thanks to their work, the survival rate for testicular cancer patients is higher every year . This year it’s at 95%, higher than any other cancer in men.
But as ever, more could be done. Whilst there is a good screening method for cervical cancer which is used nationally, there isn't one for prostate cancer, which is just as serious and as hard to recognise early. Fundraising for research to find an accurate screening for prostate cancer is essential. With testicular cancer accounting for 26% of cases of cancer in men aged 15-24 knowledge is power. The earlier the cases are caught, through young men knowing the signs and going straight to the GP for a check-up, the fewer of these cases will have lasting damage. As for penile cancer, no one wants the operating equipment to be anything less than state of the art for obvious reasons. And there’s always financial and emotional support for the patient and their family.
So pick up your comedy dildos, tie dye your boxers, write crude puns, twiddle your mustaches, and get on the internet to flash your male cancer knowledge, help increase awareness and raise some funds.
www.mensfitness.com/training/check-ups-every-guy-needs
www.pcf.org.uk (prostate cancer foundation)
www.nhs.uk
