Orchid male cancer awareness week

Orchid male cancer awareness week

By William Smith

Come on all you male readers!  It’s time we faced up to a few facts.  We know that we are really bad when it comes to admitting that we have a health problem – even to ourselves.  

Statistics show that some men would prefer to self-medicate conditions such as depression or stress, with alcohol and/or illicit drug use rather than go to the GP and get the help we need.  This in turn leads to further problems and so the circle begins. It is however not just our emotional health we have problems addressing, whenever there is need to see our GP, us men are far worse than the fairer sex at facing it.

This week is Orchid male cancer awareness week and it’s time we learnt the truth about what male avoidance of the GP can cost in terms of health, quality of life and even life expectancy.

More than 10,000 men die each year from testicular, prostate or penile cancer in the UK.  It is the embarrassment factor that prevents some men from seeking the treatment that can often provide a cure. Too many men wait until it is too late before they find the courage to see the doctor.

Orchid male cancer awareness is a campaign to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms.  It aims to convince more men to go to their GP instead of literally dying from embarrassment.

Men must take their mental and physical health more seriously.  It is predicted that male cancers will affect an estimated 39,000 more British men in 2012. So let’s look at some facts.

Facts and symptoms to be aware of

The most common form of male cancer is prostate which is estimated to affect one in every 14 men and:

  • It mainly occurs in men over the age of 65
  • It is rare under the age of 40 but more than 1,00 men under 55 are diagnosed each year
  • Quick diagnosis is very important
  • 80% of patients with early prostate cancer survive for more than 10 years after treatment

One of the reasons, other than embarrassment, which prevents sufferers from getting help, is that the symptoms are easily confused with other issues such as getting older.  The problem usually starts with differences in the way we urinate.  This is because the prostate gland surrounds the tube that passes urine, known as the urethra.

These changes when urinating can include the following:

  • Slow or weak flow of urine
  • Urinating more frequently or urgently than usual
  • Difficulty starting to urinate
  • Pain or burning sensation when urinating
  • Difficulty getting or maintaining an erection or pain during ejaculation
  • Constipation, altered bowel habit, or not feeling the bladder is completely empty

If you have any of these symptoms it does not necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer but they do need to be checked out so get to your doctors as soon as you can.

The most common cancer in men aged between 15 and 45 is testicular cancer.  The most common symptom is finding a lump which for most men is not painful when touched.  The good news is that nine out of ten cases are curable so again if you have found a lump in your balls get it checked out.

Other symptoms of testicular cancer include:

  • A dull ache or sharp pain in your testicles or scrotum, which may come and go
  • A feeling of heaviness in your scrotum
  • A dull ache in your lower abdomen (stomach area)
  • A sudden collection of fluid in your scrotum
  • Fatigue
  • General feeling of being unwell

The last male cancer that we are going to take a look at is penile cancer.  This form of cancer is relatively rare but it does affect around 400 men in Britain every year.  It is usually a slow growing cancer and the chances of survival are high if caught early on.  Penile cancer can develop anywhere on the penis but most often it can be found beneath the foreskin and on the head or glans.

Signs and symptoms of penile cancer are:

  • A painless lump or ulcer on the penis that doesn’t heal
  • Unusual foul smelling discharge
  • Bleeding
  • A red rash under the foreskin
  • Flat growths of bluish brown colour
  • Difficulty in drawing back the foreskin
  • Unexplained change in colour of the skin
  • Swollen lymph nodes in your groin area

Now we know the facts, but remember, knowledge is only powerful if we use it.  So If you have any worries about any of the cancers above and are fretting over a pint of beer whilst trying not to acknowledge the existence of one of the symptoms above – get to the doctors.  There really is no need to die of embarrassment.

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