Men's health: from resistance to respect: manning up for a journey to Oz.

• Author: McKee, K.T.
• Position: HEALTH & MEDICINE - Mehmet Oz

If 68-year-old Les Day hadn't listened to his wife 15 years ago, he probably would have died shortly thereafter.

"Fifteen years ago, there was very little awareness or advocacy for cancer screenings," says Day, now president of the Alaska Prostate Cancer Coalition. "Thanks to the gentle naggings of my wife, I finally went to one of those community health fairs and had some blood tests--one of which screened for prostate cancer. Turned out I had cancer. Then I became a champion for early detection."

His wife, Theresa, serves as treasurer of the same nonprofit coalition they're both devoting themselves to these days. Some of their work involves keeping on top of the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations for such screenings--especially when the USPSTF has in the past found little benefit for prostate cancer tests in men younger than 75.

That ruling is currently under review by the Task Force due to pressure from groups like the Alaska Prostate Cancer Coalition, an affiliate of the National Alliance of State Prostate Cancer Coalitions.

LISTEN TO THE WOMEN

"We find that the real champions for early screenings are the women in our lives," says Day, who also was fortunate to find some new FDA-approved drugs with which to battle a recurrence of his cancer five years ago. "Men don't want to talk about it or acknowledge it. The male ego gets in the way. Selfish males would rather die than stay alive for their families simply because they can't fathom a rectal exam. I tell them, 'C'mon! Man up!'"

A prostate exam, starting at age 50, is just one of 10 health tests recommended for all men of certain ages and risk factors by Alaska Regional Hospital in anticipation of National Men's Health Week, June 11-17. The hospital hosted its annual Healthy Men & Women Fair in April, offering free blood tests and seminars on preventing heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.

Other essential tests touted by Alaska Regional include an annual blood pressure check, cholesterol checks, monthly self-exams and annual doctor exams for testicular cancer, blood sugar tests, monthly self-exams and yearly doctor scans for skin cancer, depression discussions, STD screenings for the sexually active, and annual dental exams to decrease the risk of stroke and coronary artery disease due to gum disease.

THE COUNTER-ARGUMENT

To a couple of former Alaska men who think their Sitka-born wives have gone too far in worrying about their health, and to at least one male...