Get the man in your life to a doctor for Men's Health Month

We see it time and time again at Community Health Care, Inc.

Men, no matter how strong and tough they may be, will only see the doctor if their wives, girlfriends or mothers push them into it.

"I'm perfectly healthy," they declare, and often cancel appointments.

While this may be true, it's still important for men to become educated and aware of maintaining a connection with their bodies, as well as developing a healthy relationship with their doctor.

Visiting a doctor for regular check-ups may motivate men to take better care of themselves in the long run.

A lot of men wait until something is seriously wrong before making the doctor's appointment.

Sometimes, the visit is too late to treat or reverse the illness. Additionally, it is difficult to have an open dialogue between patient and doctor if the patient is getting wheeled into the emergency room or rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

Why are men like this?

The problem may begin in their late teens.

Women visit the doctor annually from a young age for pap smears, birth control, breast health and childbirth matters.

Men, on the other hand, do not have such scheduled visits to the doctor. Consequently, women are likely to be more comfortable visiting the physician throughout their lives than men.

Medical experts say a man in his 20s only requires two checkups during that decade of his life, and by his 30s he should visit a physician no less than three during that 10-year span.

This is especially true if his family has any history of colon cancer or heart disease or other strong genetically inherited diseases.

A male in his 40s needs to think seriously about his heart health and should consider yearly prostate and colon cancer exams.

To help assess someone's risk of heart disease, baseline tests such as an electrocardiogram, stress assessments, cholesterol checks and physical exams are necessary. Health researchers claim even healthy, athletic men need regular check-ups for diabetes and high cholesterol.

African-Americans need to be particularly aware that they may tend to have a substantially higher rate of prostate, stomach and liver cancers, as well as higher rates of high blood pressure.

Finally, men need to change their perception and to become aware of the signs of depression and stress, such as a loss of appetite, racing heartbeat, sleeping disorders and chronic sadness.

Since June is National Men's Health Month, this is the perfect time for all those big, strong men in our community to make an appointment with their doctors -- maybe for the first time -- and discuss their health.

Don't worry -- it won't hurt a bit!