Men's health checks (Personal WOFs) by age
The number of men who visit Dr John Mayhew’s general practice and don’t have a good understanding of their own body and who fail to get regular medical checks is astounding, says the former All Blacks doctor and now Vodafone Warriors medical director. New Zealand men are risking their lives by not taking better care of their health says one of New Zealand’s most respected doctors. This observation is backed up by new research commissioned by men’s health charity Movember, which found one in five Kiwi men said they did not know where their prostate gland was located. The survey also showed one in five men over 50 said they had never been checked for prostate cancer, despite publicity campaigns. (Five hundred male and female respondents were interviewed nationwide by Consumer Link.) Dr Mayhew says knowing how to recognise the symptoms of prostate disease can result in early diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms to look for include straining to begin urinating, a dribbling or thin stream of urine, a sudden urge to pass urine, not being able to pass urine or having to go to the toilet to pass urine frequently, especially at night. Dr Mayhew says in most cases, these symptoms are not caused by cancer but due to pressure on the urethra from an enlarged prostate, which is just part of normal aging. “However if you do experience one or more of these symptoms, you should definitely be checked by your doctor,” he says.