It’s a funny thing. I think there are two types of men when it comes to medical care and particularly prostate cancer awareness. One set of men I see are patients who are all over the disease. They are aware of family members that have had prostate cancer, they may have a wife that is very proactive in making sure he is checked, or his very nature is anxious on the subject and in turn he wants the exam and follow-up required. These men are not the issue.
The men that are a problem don’t like going to the doctor unless something is “wrong.” They pride themselves in not going to the doctor and also have an aversion to the very idea of a rectal exam. The trick is to get to these men. You see all over the net various themes to get to the male. Pints for prostate hits at men’s love of beer and the social side of that, Movember “grow a moustache” for prostate cancer, and numerous take-offs (no pun intended) related to just wearing underwear to a fund-raising event.
Why do we have to resort to this? What is it about the male that requires this promotion? Correct me if I am wrong, breast cancer awareness doesn’t have to resort to this.
I think until we figure this out, the psyche of the male, then the prostate cancer awareness syndrome, or lack thereof, will continue to be an issue. Remember we want to find all the treatable prostate cancers, but we really want to find the somewhat atypical ones that present early and are a cause of an early death. The ones you hear about that were found out, and the patient dies of the disease within three years. This is the guy we want and he will only be found by all men having the ” awareness gene.”
MORE than 100 people descended on Heaton Park on Sunday, June 6, and did their best impression of Superman!
Volunteers of all ages gathered near Heaton Hall within the park to take part in a 5k fun run – all wearing pants over their shorts in the style of Superman.
Organisers came up with the idea for the Pants in the Park day as a novel way of raising awareness of prostate cancer, which affects 36,000 men in the UK annually.
The sponsored run is expected to raise about £600 for Prostate UK, a charity that funds medical research into prostate cancer and trains healthcare professionals.
Prostate UK regional events fundraiser Kerry Johns said: “It was a brilliant day.
“We had a lot of people sporting their comedy pants in all shapes, sizes and colours.
“We had people of all ages taking part, even a girl who was two in a pushchair with her parents, which was lovely to see.”
She added: “The day is a lighthearted way of getting men to address what can be a difficult subject to confront and discuss.”
Visit prostateuk.org for more information.
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