Available
statistics have shown that women live longer than men. According to
researchers, life expectancy for women is at least five years higher than that
of the men.
Experts say that because men visit the doctor less often than women,
they are more likely to die of serious ailments that have neither been detected
nor treated.
Family
physician, Dr. Segun Agbaje, explains that as long as men are feeling good and
productive, they will not go for health checks.
Agbaje says, “As long as they can go to work and make enough money, men
generally won’t be bothered about their health. Men don’t complete their
injections and medication and they are likely to miss their appointments. But
women, will come for screening and bring their children and friends along.”
Even if you are feeling healthy, a little planning can help you stay
that way. The major threats to men’s health are well known. They are common and
often preventable. You only need to know them, their symptoms and do something
about them when they manifest.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a disease that affects the prostate, a gland in the
male reproductive system. Statistics by the National Cancer Registry estimate
that one out of six men in the world will be diagnosed with prostate cancer
before their golden jubilee. So the odds that one could have a father,
grandfather, husband, brother or friend living with this disease at any time is
high
Fortunately, experts have said that the disease is preventable and treatable
when detected early before irreversible damage has been done to the prostate.
Most men are worried about this type of cancer for certain reasons.
Apart from the fact that it affects their sexuality, it can also send the
victim to an early grave when it is not managed. This is where early detection
becomes a serious challenge to the men folk.
A consultant urologist, Dr. Andrew Mene, states that prostate cancer
often grows very slowly and may not cause significant harm, while some types
are more aggressive and they can spread quickly without treatment.
Unlike the past when only older men were diagnosed with prostate
cancer, the disease is common among young men nowadays. For this reason, Mene
advises all men, irrespective of their ages, to be wary of the disease.
Also, Consultant Urologist, Dr. James Anenih, notes that the risk of
developing prostate cancer goes up for those whose relatives have died of the
disease.
A man’s age is another predisposing factor. Doctors say that the older
a man becomes, the higher his risk of coming down with this type of cancer.
It is important to note that prostate cancer is the most treatable,
curable and manageable cancer in men when diagnosed early. Its symptoms include
frequent, slow and painful urination, enlarged prostate gland and blood in the
urine or semen.
Most prostate cancers are first found during screening with a
prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test or a digital rectal examination.
Get one done after 50 or consult your doctor if you have been
experiencing these symptoms.
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wola Soyinka is a survivor and he says early
detection and treatment saved his life.
Heart diseases
Director of the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the
United States Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Darwin Labarthe, says that
one in five men and women will die from cardiovascular disease.
However, for unclear reasons, the physician notes that men’s arteries
develop atherosclerosis earlier than women’s.
Labarthe says, “Men’s average age for death from cardiovascular disease
is fewer than 65. Women catch up about six years later. Even in adolescence,
girls’ arteries look healthier than boys’. We believe women’s naturally have
higher levels of good cholesterol. Men have to work harder to reduce their risk
for heart disease and stroke.”
He recommends that men should check their cholesterol from the age of
25 and every five years.
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a terrible disease. It is ugly, aggressive and almost
always metastatic. The disease spreads early, usually before it grows large
enough to cause symptoms or even show up on an X-ray. By the time it is
detected, lung cancer is often advanced and difficult to cure. Less than half
of men are alive a year later.
So are you still smoking? Tobacco smoke causes 90 per cent of all lung
cancers. Although women are fast catching up, the deadly habit is more common
among men.
Lung cancer is still the leading cancer killing more than enough men to
fill the Superdome every year. No effective screening test for the disease is
available, although a major study is ongoing to learn if CT scans of the chests
of high-risk people can catch cancer early enough to improve survival.
Quitting smoking at any age reduces the risk for lung cancer. Few
preventive measures are as effective, or as challenging, as quitting smoking.
If you can’t do it on your own, talk to your doctor, he/she can help
you more.
Reference:
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