Men's Health - Time To Revisit Screening!

OVERVIEW OF SCREENINGS

• Tests for Prostate Cancer - Screenings for healthy men may include both a digital rectal exam (DRE) and a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

  At age -
  50 for average-risk men
  45 for men at high risk (including African-Americans)
  40 for men with a strong family history of prostate cancer.

• Testicular Cancer - Some doctors advise regular self-exams, gently feeling for hard lumps, smooth bumps, or changes in size or shape of the testes.
  
  
• Colorectal Cancer - Men have a slightly higher risk of developing it than women. The way to prevent colon cancer is to find and remove colon polyps before they turn cancerous. A colonoscopy is a common test for detecting polyps and colorectal cancer
  
  
• Skin cancer - Older men are twice as likely to develop melanoma as women of the same age. Screening for skin cancer should be part of an annual physical routine checkup.
  
  
• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) - Risks increase with age but are also related to being overweight and ones' lifestyle habits.Annual screening by primary doctor are recommended and those at high risk with a family history of blood pressure and CVD should get screened earlier.
  
  
• Cholesterol - High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood may cause plaque to build up in the walls of your arteries, thereby increasing your risk of heart disease. Atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of the arteries) - can progress without symptoms for several years and strike unexpectedly with a stroke or heart attack.
  
  
• Type 2 Diabetes - A fasting plasma glucose test is most often used to screen for diabetes. A more current test and one more doctors are turning to is the hemoglobin A1C test, which tells how well your body has controlled blood sugar over time. Starting at age 45, if you have a higher risk, including high cholesterol or blood pressure and family history, you may start testing earlier and more frequently. Often people with diabetes don't know they have it. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness from damage to the blood vessels of the retina, or nerve damage, and even impotence.
  
  
• HIV Screening Tests HIV-Often infected men and women can remain symptom-free for years.The only way to know they are infected is with a series of blood tests called ELISA or EIA which looks for antibodies to HIV in the blood.
  
  
• Glaucoma  is often irreversible and vision loss occurs before  symptoms appear. Glaucoma damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness so steps must be taken to address this debilitating disease-


• Under 40: Every 2-4 years
• 40-54: Every 1-3 years
• 55-64: Every 1-2 years
• 65 up: Every 6-12 months