MEN'S HEALTH Globally, men die on average six years earlier than women, and for reasons that are largely preventable. Which means that it doesn’t have to be that way: we can all take action to live healthier, happier and longer lives. Suicide and mental health, prostate and testicular cancer... If you aren’t aware of the issues, give yourselves 10 mins of “man” time and check out the the health issues in the useful guide below... seek help early... https://uk.movember.com/mens-health
Yeah, we tend to underplay the problems a lot of the time when it would have been better and most likely easier to resolve if it was caught early. Particularly true for cancers, of course. My story is bike related - fell off at slow speed; really hurt my shoulder and couldn't ride for a week. Realised quite some time later, when I found the bump, that my collarbone had broken and not rejoined straight. Doesn't cause me any problem but it's still something I ask myself 'what I was thinking...'
I had a similar experience. Playing an army rugby game (against the Medical Corps, obviously) landed on the point of my shoulder on a rock hard pitch. Wife wouldn’t let me go to casualty at HER hospital (she was a junior ward sister) because she couldn’t see much wrong with me. Next day I was on a Landing Ship headed for Antwerp and we were shooting clays off the helicopter deck. First round I nearly passed out with the pain. The ship’s doc was a dipsomaniac Jock. Diagnosed a ‘forward dislocation of the stereo-clavicular joint’. Bandaged me like Boris Karloff in The Mummy but said it was ‘a bit late’. Chin ups have been very crunchy ever since.....well, ‘til I gave them up a few years back.
Yes i've had a couple of scares over the years, the last one just over the last few weeks in fact. It's crucial not to ignore bad signs. Get in to the docs early and get it sorted. In most cases it's nothing to worry about.
A while back when prostate cancer was in the news as Stephen Fry had been diagnosed, he and other celebrities where urging men over 50 to get tested. I had no symptoms but asked my GP for a PSA test and he discouraged it as things other than cancer can give a high reading and if so, the next step would be a biopsy so I let it go. I was at the Doc's for something else earlier this year and he said he could also do a prostate test so I had the finger test, not nice! All was OK thankfully but I just found it strange that prostate cancer campaigns advised a PSA test and the GP didn't.
My brother in law died from prostate last month. Same as your mate @littleade . He left it way too late seeing his GP after having symptoms for a while. Cancer had spread along his spine to the back of his skull in the end. Horrible. Edit. When I had my finger test it was done by a lady doctor. Nice slim fingers
You can’t help but feel that prostate cancer is profiled as ‘the male equivalent of breast cancer’. I doubt clinicians view it that way and we know that 3 out 4 cases of raised PSA are not cancerous just as levels rise naturally with age. By the same token (cue Covid!) most men with prostate cancer die with, not of it. It is generally a hormone dependent slow grower. I get girlier by the day.
Does our society not consider men, especially older specimens of local origin as somewhat unnecessary nowadays? Men not looking after their health is nothing new though. My fathers' father died of a heart attack back in '77 and he was autopsied. They reckoned that from the condition of his heart he had had a whole succession of small heart attacks over days before he died and had never even let on to my Gran that anything at all was wrong. He had been working away throughout it all in the garage he owned and operated. My other grandfather never crossed the doorstep of a Doctors or Medical hospital (He ran a Mental hospital in Ayr from leaving the army until his retirement) from leaving the army the first and last time a doctor called at his house he was misdiagnosed twice and was dead by the end of the night from a succession of heart attacks. I have to admit that I don't really care about my own health. The only thing I hope is that, when death comes for me, it will be quick and not too painful.
I think that if you have a life changing medical challenge that you survive you are more likely to pay a little more attention to your health. I know this was the case for me. Prior to that event I very rarely seen a doctor. Like many before have said, if in doubt go see about it.
Yeah, the Doc also asked me life style and family history questions. PSA levels do fluctuate naturally but after the finger test he remarked that my PSA level would now be temporarily high due to the prodding of the prostate.
Yeah even riding bike will give you a higher PSA reading but seriously guys it pays to get it checked ...look what happened to me!
My dad has prostate cancer so I asked about getting checked when I happened to be in the quacks for a knee problem a few years ago. He did the finger test there and then with a PSA blood test a week later. I remind the surgery every two years or so now for a PSA check. Doc told me most chaps die with it rather than of it but dad's had various ops, radiotherapy and now some pretty strong meds to keep it at bay, but it's very slowly spreading as it was found too late to be stopped. Get yourself checked!
I don't really know what a 'forward dislocation of the stereo-clavicular joint' is but it sounds bloody painful! We live and learn. Sometimes with the scars to remind us.
Shoulders are a really strange joint. I suddenly developed a pain in both shoulders a few years ago and, after a while had it looked at.... I was sent for X-rays and apparently I had developed a spasm in the left hand side of my neck that was forcing it to one side (I suspect that is due to whiplash 23 years ago) and two dislocated acromioclavicular joints. No idea how I developed this as I'm told that this injury is usually caused by heavy lifting (hadn't done any in quite a while at that point in time) or falling and catching yourself on your hands (hadn't done that in quite some years either) and they told me there is nothing they can do about it (isn't modern medicine wonderful!) unless it gets really bad and then they will do some sort of operation that may or may not work. Well, since then the pain has gone away by itself and I now can happily lift weights up to and over 160 kg without any problems.and have no neck or shoulder problems to speak of.
My doc said PSA has a high false positive, but with my aversion to the finger a had one done, negative. Since then he is happy to support it as I have a negative benchmark Close mate had a positive and endured the 8 biopsies to find no cancer. He is a tough nut but found it unbearable, no PSA for him
Although the PSA test is by no means conclusive it is a very good indicator as long as you have not been riding a bicycle ..or the wife a day or two before it should be OK and although just one is good but its a good idea to have another after a month to see if it rises. If not for a slightly high PSA test my cancer would never have been picked up i had no symptoms ...no prostatitis etc and mine was partial grade 4!
