|
Most men do not think enough about their health. Only about half as many men as women have primary care physicians. Women are twice as likely as men to visit doctors regularly. That probably explains why women live on average six years longer than men, a gap which has steadily increased over the past several decades. In fact, men have a higher death rate than women for each of the top ten leading causes of death in this country.
Congress established Men’s Health Week in 1994. This week, which leads up to and includes Father’s Day, was created to raise awareness about men’s health issues and encourage men to become more active participants in their health and well-being. We have made some progress in these areas, though not nearly enough.
One area in which we have made remarkable breakthroughs is in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the leading diagnosed cancer among American men, accounting for nearly one-third of all new cancer cases each year. More than 230,000 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and some 30,000 will die from it. The good news is that a simple blood test called the PSA exam can detect and help dramatically reduce prostate cancer deaths in men, much as mammograms and Pap smears have reduced breast and cervical cancer in women.
There also has been legislation (H.R. 457) introduced in Congress to create an Office of Men’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This bill, the Men’s Health Act, would establish within NIH an office whose primary focus would be to coordinate and promote men’s health in the United States, much as NIH’s Office of Women’s Health does for women.
I believe that Congress can and should encourage America’s men to take a more active role in their health care. Educating men, their families, and health care providers about the importance of the early detection of male health problems will save lives, improve men’s health, and close the life-expectancy gap between men and women. I can think of no greater gift this Father’s Day than to encourage the men in your life to take their health more seriously.
|
