For my last take in our "Health & Fitness" week of the #BATTLEROYALE , I decided to do an awareness piece. I was thinking about how often in the media you see a piece encouraging women to regularly check their breasts and have cervical smear tests etc. Now I think it is great that there is constant reminders in the media for women to look after themselves, I have no problem with that but how often do you see men advised to check their testicles or get their prostate checked.
For confirmation, I asked myself what are the symptoms of Testicular Cancer - Lumps maybe pain, I have a vague notion. How do you check your testicles - I suppose you check for lumps. Who are the danger groups - I haven't a clue. What are the symptoms, checks , danger groups for Prostate Cancer - Simple and concise answer, I don't know. So I decided to write a take on serious male ailments and aspects of the male wellbeing as an awareness raising exercise.
Symptoms -
The most common symptoms of testicular cancer are:
A painless lump or swelling in a testicle
Pain or discomfort in a testicle or in the scrotum
An enlarged testicle or a change in the way it feels
A heavy feeling in your scrotum
If the cancer has spread, you may get:
A dull ache in your back
Breast tenderness
Stomach ache
Shortness of breath
A painless lump in the side of your neck
Danger Groups - The exact cause of testicular cancer is unknown. But there are certain things called risk factors that can increase your chance of getting the disease. These include:
Undescended testicle: Testicular cancer is more common in men with a testicle that did not descend, or which descended some time after birth.
Previous history of testicular cancer: You are slightly more at risk if you have had testicular cancer in the past.
Family history of testicular cancer: You are more at risk if your father or brother had the disease.
Fertility problems: If you have fertility problems, you have a small risk of testicular cancer. A vasectomy does not increase your risk of developing it.
Mumps: If you had a rare complication of mumps called mumps orchitis, your risk increases.
Ethnic and social group: If you are white skinned, you have a higher chance of getting testicular cancer than African-Caribbean or Asian men. Testicular cancer is also more common if you are in a wealthier social group.
Klinefelter´s syndrome: This is a sex chromosome disorder that causes low levels of male hormones, sterility, breast enlargement and small testicles. If you have the syndrome, you have an increased risk of testicular cancer.
There is no evidence that injury to your testicle will cause cancer but it may make it easier to notice. It is not certain if being around chemicals can cause testicular cancer.
Research is also checking to see if tall men have a higher risk or not.
Remember testicular cancer is not infectious and cannot be passed on to other people. There is also no link between vasectomy and testicular cancer.
Testicular cancer is quite rare, but it is the most common cancer found in young men aged between 15 and 34 years. This number has been growing over the past few years.
Self Checking of the testicles :- It is advised to do this once a month. Pick the same day each month for you to get into the practice of checking your testicles monthly. Become used to the shape, size and weight of your testicles.
The best time to do this is after a warm bath or shower, when the skin of your scrotum is relaxed. Hold your scrotum in the palms of your hands.
Use your fingers and thumb on both hands to examine your testicles.
Gently feel each testicle, one at a time, for any change in size or weight.
The testicle itself should be smooth with no lumps or swellings.
It is normal to feel a soft tube at the top and back of the testicle.
It is common for one testicle to be slightly larger or to hang lower than the other.
If you notice any swelling, lump, or experience a different sensation than normal, visit your family doctor as soon as possible
Source: https://www.cancer.ie/cancer-information/testicular-cancer#sthash.QVdC8GGM.dpbs
(2) Prostate Cancer:
Most guys are like me I reckon will need a quick biology lesson first.
What is the Prostate Gland?
The prostate gland is found only in men. It is a small gland about the size of a walnut. It sits at the base of the bladder and in front of the rectum (back passage). The tube that drains urine from the bladder (urethra) runs down through the centre of the prostate gland, letting urine flow out of the body through the penis.
The prostate makes a thick white fluid that mixes with sperm to make semen. It also makes a protein called PSA or prostate specific antigen.
The PSA protein turns semen into liquid. Some of this protein can pass into the bloodstream. When doctors check the prostate gland, they often measure levels of this protein in your blood. This is called the PSA test.
If your PSA level is higher than normal, it can sometimes be a sign of prostate cancer. However it can also be a sign of a less serious condition.
The prostate gland can get bigger with age, and may press on the urethra (the tube that drains the bladder); sometimes this causes problems passing urine, otherwise known as prostate urinary symptoms.
What are Prostate Urinary symptoms?
Problems passing urine is a common complaint for men as they grow older. Symptoms may include some or all of the following:
A slow flow of urine
Trouble starting or stopping the flow
Passing urine more often, especially at night
Pain when passing urine
Blood in the urine or semen
Feeling of not emptying your bladder fully
These symptoms may be caused by prostate cancer or they may be caused by other conditions, such as a harmless (benign) growth of the prostate gland called benign prostatic hyperplasia.
It is also important to understand that early prostate cancer may not cause urinary symptoms, or any symptoms at all. It is not safe for you to assume that because you have no prostate urinary symptoms that you do not have prostate cancer. Visit your family doctor if you are worried.
As stated the symptoms of Prostate Cancer are very similar to Prostate Urinary Symptoms.
Most prostate cancers are found when they are early, many are slow growing, and symptoms may not happen for many years if they happen at all. Remember that men with early prostate cancer are unlikely to have any symptoms.
Because early prostate cancer does not usually cause any symptoms, it is often identified through prostate cancer screening. This involves your family doctor checking for the possibility of prostate cancer when you have no symptoms. The screening involves an examination of the prostate gland and a special blood test called the PSA blood test.
Advanced prostate cancer may cause some or all of the prostate urinary symptoms. A small number of men may experience other symptoms such as unexplained tiredness, low energy or poor appetite.
If prostate cancer has spread to the bone you may experience aches and pains in the bone, which might require pain killers for pain relief.
Danger Groups:
Age - Rare in men under 40, increases rapidly after 50, 6/10 cases occur after 65
Race - It is statistically more likely for a black man to get it
Geography - Again statistically more likely in North America, North Western Europe, Australia
Family History - If there has been Prostate Cancer in the family already.
Gene Changes - See link for better explanation.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/prostate-cancer-risk-factors
Prevention and Screening for Prostate Cancer:
Diet - Men who eat a lot of red meat and high-fat dairy products and not enough green vegetables may have a slightly higher chance of getting prostate cancer. A healthy diet can reduce your risk of cancer. Diet tips https://www.cancer.ie/reduce-your-risk/your-health/diet#sthash.aSYqOLKw.o7Iu9aDC.dpbs
Be Active - Physical activity can help reduce your risk of cancer https://www.cancer.ie/reduce-your-risk/your-health/be-active#sthash.xgUDvrwh.k3ILUzAq.dpbs
Be A Healthy Weight - Being a healthy weight is one of the ways to protect yourself from cancer
Screenings - You should get a PSA blood test and a Baseline Rectal exam once a year after the age of 50 (Yes, a Baseline Rectal exam is a finger up the butt, it is embarrassing but it could save your life).
Source :- https://www.cancer.ie/cancer-information/prostate-cancer#sthash.mBWYMjgb.dpbs
(3) Young Male Suicide:
Suicide is the leading cause of death in men aged 15-34 years in Ireland, surpassing the number of deaths from road traffic accidents https://www.stpatricks.ie/blog/suicide-leading-cause-death-among-young-men-ireland
1 million people a year commit suicide, more than the figure who die by homicide and war.
The suicide rate has doubled in Ireland between 1987 and 1998 appearing to have levelled off since then.
There was 486 suicides in Ireland in 2010 (386 male, 100 female). Of which almost 40% (109) were men between 35 -44.
In 2003, 40% of suicides were males between 15 -34.
People who are socially isolated seem to be more susceptible to suicide.
Alcohol is present in around 50% of suicide attempts. Around half of all male self harm incidents had alcohol involved and 39% of female incidents.
Other factors include social instability, limited education, poor employment, low self-esteem and family history of mental illness. In Ireland the increase in suicide rates has been associated with contextual change over the past two decades such as economic boom and downfall, growth in multiculturalism, emigration return, and lessening of church influence.
Youth suicide has been associated with an increase in the prevalence of depressive disorders and substance abuse, increased life pressures, changes in attitudes towards suicidal behaviour making it a more acceptable response to stress, and an increase in the availability of suicide methods
Youth suicide has also been associated with increased exposure to media violence.
Other factors which have been associated with youth suicide include family disruption, poor conflict resolution, unhealthy communication patterns and family break-up.
Young Irish people identified relationship problems, concern with sexual orientation, educational stress, abusive experiences, and family disharmony as significant contributory factors in suicidality and Deliberate Self Harm https://www.pisa.dcu.ie/index.php?page=suicide-facts
There has been a lot of talk about young male suicide and I think a huge factor about this is society's preconditions on males not being expected to open up about their feelings. If you ever have any feelings like this please ring a helpline or research support sites on the internet.
(4) Condoms:
If you are going to have sex and it is with someone you are not in a long term relationship with or don't trust completely, wear a condom. Apart from unwanted pregnancies it is also vital to protect you from STIs.
Imagine the conversation at a funeral.
Man A: Hardest man in the town.
Man B: Tough as ol' boots
Man A: Had a pain in his side for 18 months. Never went to the doctor, turned out to be cancer.
Man B: A real man, a pity for his family.
Okay, as I mentioned earlier, men stereotypically stayed away from the doctor but I beseech you any pain or bleeding or even the slightest thing untoward, get it checked out, it doesn't make you any less a man. Any problems or issues you have that could be helped by counselling, try it too, you never know, the days of people of casting aspersions on someone getting counselling or therapy, as only something women do are long gone.
Conclusion:
I didn't realise when I started this there would be so much information to get through I hope people who read it found it useful. I think the main thing is don't be an old style real man and open up about what is going on in your life. If you think something is wrong, get it checked out. If you need help, check out what is available and try it.
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