3 Risks to Men’s Health That Are Worth Talking About

3 Risks to Men’s Health That Are Worth Talking About

A man’s health is predicated upon his genetic make-up and his willingness to guard his most precious gift by not abusing his body with obesity, smoking, street drugs, being sedentary, and taking insane risks.

No one suggests a dull life, just one that makes common sense. A person cannot alter his genes, but he can make the most of whatever he is given.

While smoking and obesity are the two greatest preventable threats to all Americans (according to Centers for Disease Control, there is one specific illness that impacts a man’s life: prostate cancer.

1 in 9 white men will develop prostate cancer, while black men have 1 chance in 9 of developing the disease. Furthermore, if a man has a brother or father who has prostate cancer, he has twice as likely a chance of getting the disease.

There is no known prevention, but early detection through annual visits to the doctor will reduce the chance that prostate cancer will lead to death.

Unfortunately, 225,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 40,000 will die of the disease each year. Vigilance is critical. New medications and the slowness of the disease to grow is a reason why the vast majority of men die with prostate cancer, not from it.

Erectile dysfunction (impotence) is an important condition that negatively impacts a man’s quality of life. Fortunately, there are many medications that can treat the condition to make a large number of men capable of having intercourse. Thus, it is a treatable, although not curable condition. And as if smoking does not wreck enough havoc on a man, it is the major cause of impotence as well.

An enlarged prostate is yet another risk for men. Benign prostatic hyperplasia, as its medically known, can cause difficulty urinating. By age 60, over one-half of men have BPH; by age 85, the number climbs to 90%, according to the American Urological Association (AUA). Medications and (less likely) surgery may be necessary to relieve the symptoms of decreased urinary stream, frequency of urination during the day and/or night, the sense of incomplete emptying, urgency to void, and possibly incontinence. All these symptoms are due to the prostate obstructing the bladder outflow.

The good news is that many of a man’s health problems can be either avoided or improved. All it takes is the desire to care for oneself, vigilance, and periodic checkup.