Cover Story
Above: Bill Dietze, M.D.
Checks in the Male
By taking charge of their own health, men can help lower their risk of serious disease.
But with regular screenings, diseases can be caught early and treated with greater success. "There are so many health problems out there men should be getting screened for," says Bill Dietze, M.D., an ear, nose and throat specialist on the medical staff at Memorial Hospital. "I encourage my patients-and my friends-to get these tests done, especially after age 50." With that in mind, here's a guide to three common health concerns men should pay attention to.
If it's true that men don't like asking for directions, locating a doctor's office is no exception.
Heart Disease
What it is: Plaque deposits that build up in the heart's blood vessels, restricting blood flow. It's the leading cause of death for men.Risk factors: Include having a family history of heart disease, aging, lack of exercise and excess body weight.Prevention: Exercise, quit smoking, and control high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Symptoms: Include discomfort or heaviness in your chest, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats and dizziness.
How it's diagnosed: Your doctor may recommend an EKG or ECG, chest X-ray and stress test as well as additional tests depending on your health history and symptoms.
What the results mean: Your tests will determine how many of your heart's vessels are blocked and how signifi- cant the blockages are.
Treatment options: The most common treatments are bypass surgery and angioplasty with stent placement. Dr. Dietze lost a 36-year-old brother to heart disease and suffered a heart attack himself at age 39. "I had three bypasses then and I changed my lifestyle, watching what I ate and exercising, because I couldn't change my genetics," he says. Regular monitoring saw his heart disease creeping back, and two years ago at age 63 he had five more bypasses.
Prostate Cancer
What it is: A malignant tumor growth in the prostate, a male gland located in front of the rectum. It's the second leading cause of male cancer deaths.Risk factors: Include being African-American, having a close relative who had the disease prior to age 65 and aging.
Prevention: Eat less red meat and fat and consume more veggies, fruits and grains.
Symptoms: Include urinating too frequently or not often enough, delayed or weak urine stream, lower back pain, or pain with urination, ejaculation or bowel movements.
How it's diagnosed: With a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test and digital rectal exam. However,these tests aren't foolproof, so ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of testing. The American Cancer Society recommends annual screenings beginning at age 50, and starting as young as 40 for those at high risk.
What the results mean: Your PSA level depends on a number of factors, including your age-discuss the results with your doctor.
Treatment options: The most common treatments are surgery, radiation and hormone therapy, while other methods include cryosurgery, which involves freezing the cancer, and seed implants, where radioactive pellets are placed into the prostate.
Colon Cancer
What it is: Cancer in the colon, often cited together with cancer of the rectum and called colorectal cancer. There will be more than 100,000 cases in the United States this year, causing over 56,000 deaths- although the death rate has been decreasing in recent years. This is the second leading cause of death due to cancer in the United States.Risk factors: Include being African-American or Jewish of Eastern European descent; obesity; aging; smoking; family history of polyps or cancer of the colon or rectum; or a personal history of cancer of the colon or rectum, polyps, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.
Prevention: Limit fatty foods, favoring plant sources and eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains; exercise; don't smoke; and if you drink, have red wine. Calcium supplementation also may be preventive.
Symptoms: Include blood in the stool or rectal bleeding, a change in bowel habits and weight loss. Yet, typically patients have no symptoms.
How it's diagnosed: Most studies show that colonoscopy, which examines the entire colon, is the best test.
Other tests include flexible sigmoidoscopy, in which a slender tube is used to look inside the rectum and a portion of the colon, and a stool blood test. Screening is recommended beginning at age 50, and starting at age 40 for higher-risk individuals, although it can strike in the 20s and 30s.
What the results mean: Finding a cancer or polyp indicates a presence of disease.
Treatment options: Found early enough, a tumor can be removed at the time of colonoscopy, and patients have a nearly 100 percent chance of recovery. In some cases, doctors may have to remove a portion of the colon. If the tumor has spread, then chemotherapy is required.
By Stephanie Thurrott
Keep Up With Checkups!
Darren J. Arnecke, M.D., an internal medicine physician on the medical staff at Memorial Hospital, notes that it's important for men, as well as women, to be screened regularly for health problems. That's because many health problems can be treated more easily if they are identified early."There's some variability in recommended screenings based on the individual," he says. Men with family histories or other risk factors might be screened earlier and more frequently for certain conditions. But there are certain screens most doctors perform routinely, such as:
- blood testing to measure electrolytes, kidney function and cholesterol levels
- blood pressure checks
- digital rectal exam for cancer
- prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer, beginning between ages 50 and 60
- colonoscopy at age 50, repeated every 10 years if results are normal