Taking care of our Fathers

The week leading up to Father’s day has been celebrated as National Men’s Health Week.  So it is important for this community to focus on the health and well-being of the men and our fathers. 

Men do not see physicians for their annual exam nearly as often as women.  Men are dying of the top causes at higher rates than women.  Men are more likely to be uninsured than women.  Approximately 30,000 men die each year from prostate cancer.

Men need to start checking their testicles at the age of 15, and if they notice lumps they should be seen by a physician asap.  Annual skin exams should be done at 18 years and above.  Men should be seeing a dentist every 6 months.  Eye exams should be done once in the 20s and twice in the 30s to rule out cataracts or glaucoma.

A lot of young men who have families in this wonderful county do not have insurance, which is a great reason to have a hospital district.  The hospital would be able to assist better than current county requirements for indigent care.

At 35, men should have their thyroid checked, diabetic screening should be done on obese and overweight men, and blood pressure readings recorded. 

At 50 years of age, men should get screened for colorectal cancer with a colonoscopy every 5-10 years.  Men with risk factors should be evaluated for osteoporosis at this age as well.  

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that “due to a lack of awareness, poor health education, and culturally induced behavior patterns in their work and personal lives, men’s health and well-being are deteriorating steadily.”

We need to take care of our men in this community, and the first way is to get them to one of our local GRMC physicians.