June 17, 2016 | June is Men’s Health Month and a primary goal for the month is to encourage men of all ages to practice prevention. Routine medical advice and early treatments can prevent disease and injury and catch problems before they escalate.
Why is June so important for men’s health? Men continuously avoid seeing their primary care physician based on a survey released by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). This is bad news. Here are some staggering results from the survey.
Of men surveyed, at least 42% were diagnosed with chronic conditions like heart disease, arthritis, cancer and diabetes, but here’s the kicker the majority of the men surveyed (80%) described themselves as in excellent, very good or good health. This means, many men believe they are in good health but could be diagnosed with a chronic condition.
Collectively we should be encouraging our male friends and relatives of the importance of screening and being seen by their primary care providers.
The main reason men don’t see the doctor (they say) is because they don’t have the time. Here’s a cool suggestion: Father’s Day is coming up. Take something off dad’s plate this week, this way he doesn’t have an excuse to avoid a check-up. You can even call Northwest Health or schedule an appointment online. We’ll fit him in.
It’s important for us to focus on Men’s Health Month, because it’s important for us to keep the men in our lives, in our lives.