There has been much media coverage lately about the importance of men's health issues and indeed anyone who has lived with a male will know that most men, and I am not talking about all men, would rather put their heads in the sand than man-up and have an annual medical check-up.
Prostate cancer has come to the forefront when it comes to health concerns with the over forty-year-old men. I think it is fantastic how the medical world has seconded male celebrities to help spread the word through the media and of the seriousness of this killer disease and how, with early detection, this disease can be treated successfully.
The symptomatology of prostate cancer includes ‘waking frequently at night to urinate, sudden or urgent need to urinate, difficulty in starting to urinate, slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping, discomfort when urinating, painful ejaculation, blood in the urine or semen, decrease in libido (sex urge) and reduced ability to get an erection’ (Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia website.)
The detection of prostatic cancer is usually achieved by a simple PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test. This is a protein produced by the prostate gland and found in the serum of men however it is elevated in cases of disease. Sometimes DRE (digital rectal examination) is undertaken by the doctor to detect enlargement of the prostate gland.
I recall in my nursing days, having my ‘stint’ in the male surgical ward and may I add that this was my favourite ward during my three years of training. Why? Because men seem to walk this earth with a mental attitude that hospitals are meant for extremely ill or dying people (ridiculous but true) and therefore you must get in and get out in the fastest possible time, a bit like being in the grand prix. It’s this ‘get the hell out of there’ and get home attitude that drives them to have an extremely short time in hospital and hey it seems to work for them in my opinion.
Many a day would TURP procedures be carried out in theatre on our male patients from this male surgical ward (transurethral resection of the prostate - the fancy medical name for the surgical removal of part of an enlarged prostate which has been blocking the flow of urine from the bladder.) My patient’s would return from surgery with a variety of fluid bags poised high on their steel stands five feet up. These would be ensuring they were receiving enough intravenous fluids compensating for their lack of oral fluid intake for the time being whilst being Nil By Mouth post-operatively and some bags would be helping flush out the bladder via a catheter (tube) which, I must admit, looked a little horrifying for those seeing this myriad of bag and tubes for the first time.
These ‘men of steel’ would want to show us that there was nothing wrong with them and seem to want to prove their manhood far too early in our nursing opinions. It was like being on holiday in the ward, ‘let me help you out of bed Mr Smith as it is only a few hours since your surgery” to which Mr Smith would reply, as he gingerly makes his way to the edge of the bed, looking pale and dizzy, determined to do it all solo “no thanks love, I’ve got it all under control.” Yes, I would stop and wait for the inevitable “oh, I feel a little odd” verbalised from ‘the terminator’ as he swayed on his feet and collapsing back onto his bed, finally asking for something to lean on……which would be me! Yep, it would happen just like clockwork and I would admire each one of them for their determination.
Recovery for these male procedures is pretty fast…. of course it is, it involves men in hospital wanting to ‘get the hell out of there.’ So with all the treatments out there to help our wonderful men, personally, I would opt for the regular check-ups and a PSA blood test for early detection if I was a guy.
Regardless, as much as I loved nursing this wonderful species of manhood, I really wish men would be more confident when it comes to being tested for medical conditions common to their sex. By having these tests and having you ‘sorted’ earlier in life instead of behaving like Neanderthal man with club in hand, searching for the next beast to kill and drag home to woman is so yesterday guys! Come on, prevention is better than cure, you know it, I know it. Let’s keep you looking like Lamborghini’s instead of you turning into old T-model Ford’s before your time just because you don’t like medical tests!
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