People, especially men, like to think that they are invincible. There’s something about testosterone that makes us believe we can fix the roof even though we’ve never climbed a ladder, repair the car even though we have no tools and play basketball better than the NBA players we’re watching on TV.
We also think we’re impervious to getting sick even though everyone is susceptible to disease and illness. Taking precautions, such as starting a vitamin regiment, can decrease your chances of getting sick, but nothing can make you immune.
It’s more important than ever to have health insurance, and this becomes ever more true as we age. Men and women should get regular checkups even when you feel healthy. For women, your chances of getting breast cancer increase significantly at the age of fifty. For men the threat of prostate issues increases, but many of us don’t get examined because of a taboo dislike of the examination.
Getting a prostate exam makes you no less of a man. In fact, being a man is about doing the right thing even when you don’t want to. The American Cancer Society (ACS) now urges men over forty to get annual prostate exams, lowering the previously recommended age by a decade.
Prostate cancer is now the most common form of the deadly disease in the US. This is why the ACS has lowered the recommended age from 50 to 40. A few seconds, once a year can catch prostate cancer early when it’s easiest to deal with. People depend on you as a father, brother, son, uncle, friend, advisor, and provider. If not for yourself, get routine prostate exams for the people who love and need you.
