Male Patients Less Likely To Schedule Annual Doctor's Checkup
By: Gretchen Bolander
Updated: February 7, 2013
JOPLIN, MO-- A recent federal study points out that men are 24% less likely than women to have visited a doctor in the last year - even while they are at a higher risk for diabetes and heart problems.
"Certainly we have in our culture a thought at least among some men that going to the doctor's office is not a very masculine thing to do, especially if you're healthy." Dr. Brady Hesington is a hospital specialist at Freeman Neosho. He adds that young men don't get the same prompting to schedule regular doctor's visits as compared to the push to prevent cervical cancer in women. "It's fortunate for men that there's not a disease equivalent in men that affects that percentage of men that would prompt them to come in. And so I don't think we train men at a young age to come in."
But Hesington points out there are a number of conditions which could be an issue long before the patient feels any pain. That includes high blood pressure. "But it's one of those things that's kind of a silent disease. Most people don't have symptoms of - so unless we're looking for that, then we're not going to see it most of the time."
The yearly list can include screening for prostate cancer for some patients, as well as high cholesterol and colon cancer. "Certainly the data over the years shows we make a difference by finding, detecting and treating early colon cancer versus late colon cancer."
You can learn more about staying healthy by visiting freemanhealth.com.
