(Disclaimer: This post appeared originally
on June 29, 2011 and was reprinted on July 2, 2014 (https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2014/07/02/mens-health-a-compelling-quality-of-life-issue/).
It contains references that are graphic in nature, and which may be
considered offensive; reader discretion is advised. The initial catalyst
for posting this information was my 2011 Colonoscopy. I had a second
procedure in 2014, and a third last week. It seemed like a perfect time to
reprise this post).
A few days ago I had my third Colonoscopy,
which is the endoscopic test
of the colon and the distal part
of the small bowel with a camera. The procedure is recommended for
men over age 50, on a periodic basis;
every 10 years if no irregularities are found, and more
frequently if non-benign polyps or other issues arise during the test. In
my previous tests, the results indicated non-benign polyps were found. Subsequently,
I was scheduled for a follow-up after 3 years, as a regular sequential
step in my Annual Physical regimen. That
is a precautionary measure, not any kind of alert or scare. That is
as it should be.
I am delighted to end the suspense, as it relates to this
year’s Colonoscopy. My test revealed normal mucosa, and no arteriovenous malformation, diverticula,
polyps, masses, evidence of colitis
or any other abnormalities. That’s
about as good as it gets. Given my previous history, my next exam is scheduled for
5 years from now instead of three. I’m moving in the right direction. Perhaps
if I garner comparable results next time, I can earn the 10-year periodic exam.
This is not intended to provide a by blow-by-blow of
my procedure. I am addressing this topic to provide a public service. I
have observed both anecdotally and
from numerous data streams, men in general and African
American men in particular, are notorious for neglecting our
health. There are too many reasons to enumerate, but a few include:
§ Distrust of
doctors (Some black men still reference the Tuskegee Experiment)
§ Fear…of
doctors, of medicine, bad news, of pain, of surgery, of anesthesia, the unknown
§ Unawareness of
early warning signs
§ No regular doctor
§ Lack
of health care benefits (African Americans are more likely to be
Unemployed or
Underemployed, and therefore less likely to have insurance)
§ Misplaced
priorities (some men take better care of their
homes and/or cars than they
do their personal health)
§ Good
intentions; bad execution (Many of us “intend” to” schedule an
appointment to see a
doctor, but don’t)
§ Procrastination (Delay,
delay, delay)
§ Superman
complex (The perception that one is young, healthy, and totally
bullet proof)
§ We
are on a super secret suicide mission (No, we just act like
it)
Those are 10 of my own
very unscientific, totally straight off the top of my head
reasons. After setting them to paper, I decided to look for an
expert opinion…OK; I checked to see what a doctor thought. Not
surprisingly (to me anyway), there was a fair amount of overlap.
Dr. Sharon
Orrange, Assistant Professor of Clinical General Internal Medicine at
the University of Southern California has
weighed in with what she believes are “The 10 Real Reasons Men Don’t
Go to the Doctor.” Since she actually practices medicine,
I will allocate more weight to her opinion than mine…though keep in mind, I do
have the inherent advantage of being a man. Dr. Orrange’s 10 most
compelling (or real, as she puts it) reasons are:
1.
You are afraid we will put our finger up your
butt. We will,
especially if you are over 40 or have any complaints related to your bowel
movements. Yes, you get a rectal exam after the age of 40 once a
year for a feel of your prostate and so we can check your stool for microscopic
blood that you can’t see.
2.
You are afraid we will examine your balls. We
will, if you are 40 or younger. The peak age for testicular cancer is 18-40 so
guidelines recommend you get a once a year testicular exam. Don’t worry it
won’t hurt at all.
3.
I feel FINE. I
am glad you feel fine, but you can feel FINE with high cholesterol, high blood
pressure and elevated blood sugars. Your mother or wife won’t feel
fine when they are taking care of you after you have a stroke. Don’t
wait until you feel awful to come see us.
4.
Going to the Doctor is a chick thing. Many
of you feel this way but remember we live longer than you do. If
doctor visits are a chick thing well, then, nursing homes are a guy
thing. You have to get over this. It’s true, the waiting
room magazines are not for guys but when you come see us you will see that many
of the medical assistants, doctors, phlebotomists and medical records folks are
men. Real men go to doctors.
5.
You are embarrassed to talk about what’s going
on with you. The bright
red blood on the toilet paper when you wipe, the red itchy rash in your groin
and on your feet, the problems you have at times getting a boner,
getting up at night a few times to pee, we hear it all the time. You
are not alone and our job is to show you how common this is and help fix it for
you.
6.
You don’t find the office hours convenient. I
get this and urge you to find a doctor who is accessible and can work around
your office hours. Seriously though. The average guy watches 16
hours of TV a week, you can come for a 30-minute visit once a year and maybe a
couple of follow-up visits as needed.
7.
Going to the Doctor is giving in to your
nagging wife. I
had a patient who gave his wife for her 20th anniversary a copy of his Lipitor
prescription, thinking this was a GIFT to his wife that he was taking care of
his medical issues. It is true; women rightly so nag their dads,
brothers, and husbands to go to the doctor because they are tired of square
dancing with women at the assisted living facilities.
8.
You don’t realize we are here for prevention. You
don’t have to be sick to come see us and if you establish a relationship with
us you have easy access when you do get sick. Once a year we can
touch base with you to discuss age appropriate screening, which we KNOW, helps
keep you well.
9.
You don’t have a relationship with a physician. If
you are not attached to a regular physician by the age of 40 you are more
likely to get in trouble. Unlike women who need annual pap smears
and contraception, you haven’t had to see someone regularly from the age of
18-30. Find someone your friends use, or enlist your partner’s help
to find someone that might be a connection. You want someone
accessible and younger physicians are much more likely to e-mail so look until
you find the right match.
10. You
think we will pick on you for your habits. Drinking
a 12-pack on the weekends, not exercising and eating bad foods, among other
things. These things are not as uncommon as you might
expect. We will put you on a long leash and let you pick and choose
the habits to get rid of as needed.
If you are a Doctor Dodger, the
reality is, it is of little consequence whether your reasons for doing so more
closely resemble Dr. Orrange’s list or
mine. If your recalcitrance leads
to a preventable heart attack, some form of cancer, or a stroke, you will
have contributed directly to reducing your quality of life, as well as that of
your family members. Such actions could also lead to premature
death. It really is pretty simple; fear, embarrassment, death
(sooner rather than later)…pick one dude!
Let’s be clear here, human beings are not immortal. Psalms 90:10 advises
us: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by
reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and
sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Proponents
of the Bill Maher School of Thought dismiss such biblical advisory
as akin to magic, wizardry, or witchcraft. But I am reasonably
certain even Mr. Maher concedes that we all will die. Moreover, I
wouldn’t bet the farm that he doesn’t have a regular physician, regardless of
his rationale.
The point of seeing healthcare
professionals on a regular basis is not to live forever; none of us
will. Rather, the idea is to leverage the best possible existence
out of our all too brief time here on earth.
As most of us know, women live longer than
men. Once upon a time, this was largely attributable to the rigors of backbreaking manual
labor, and long before that, due to the results of men losing too many battles
with the lions or other members of the Wild Kingdom, in the
quest to determine who would eat…and who would be dinner.
Neither of those historical tableaus aligns
with today’s American reality. No,
the underlying contemporary contributory factors for those of us now living in
the USA are that poor exercise habits, irresponsible
dietary choices, too much smoking and drinking, and eschewing regular checkups and prevention
screenings combine to lead to a lower quality of life (health wise), and
ultimately, to a shortened lifespan; on average five years less than for women.
According to a 2007 Harris Interactive survey that included over 1,100 men, the American Academy
of Family Physicians found that:
§ Many
men go to the Doctor only when they are very sick
§ Before
they did, many of these men waited several days to
see if they felt better
§ Most
of these men had a regular doctor
§ Most
had currently active health insurance
§ Most
said they felt comfortable talking to their physician
In an even more recent survey, conducted by Esquire magazine
in January of 2011, researchers found that:
§ Roughly half of American men ages 18-50 had no primary care physician
§ One
third had not had a check-up in more than a year
§ More
than 40% had never had their cholesterol checked
§ 70%
had never had a prostate exam
Do you perchance know the leading causes of death
in America? According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), complete
information available in 2007, broke down
like this:
Number of deaths for leading causes of
death:
§ Chronic
lower respiratory diseases: 127,924
§ Accidents
(unintentional injuries): 123,706
§ Alzheimer’s
disease: 74,632
§ Diabetes:
71,382
§ Influenza
and Pneumonia: 52,717
§ Nephritis,
nephritic syndrome, and nephrosis: 46,448
§ Septicemia:
34,828
Source: Deaths: Final Data for
2007
Based on CDC research, Heart Disease and Cancer,
the top two causes of death in the United States in 2007, led to nearly twice as many deaths as the
cumulative totals of causes 3 through 10. In fact, the number of deaths
attributable to Heart Disease alone, (616,067), nearly
equaled the total for causes 3 through 10 (667,589).
It is important to recognize that the relative death rate
for men is higher than that for women for all causes listed in the Top 10. While there are hereditary
factors that contribute to individual proclivity to develop Heart Disease, a timely and committed change in
lifestyle in concert with an appropriate medical remediation, prevention, and/or maintenance strategy can help most
men (and women) live a relatively normal life.
In summary, this post is a cry for help on behalf of
men. Perhaps, more aptly stated, it is a call for men to step up and
help themselves. As a general rule, ours is an interdependent society. That
means, someone, somewhere relies upon you. So men, I urge you to
unite on behalf of a cause that is intuitively selfish,
but intellectually selfless. I
entreat you to recognize this undeniable truth; “Men’s Health: ACompelling Quality of Life Issue - Vol. III!” Yes, this is a
cause that requires you to think of (and act) for yourself
first. But in doing so, your wife, or significant other, your
children, your siblings, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, your career,
your civic association, your fraternity, and yes, your state of mind, will all
benefit.
I’m done; holla back!
Read my blog anytime
by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A
new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on
a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult
the links below:
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