Men’s Health Night continues to break down barriers
The Swift Current Motorcycle Ride For Dad Chapter recently hosted a second opportunity to openly talk about the no longer taboo topics involved with men’s health.
Dr. Francisco Garcia was the guest speaker at the May 3 event, and he provided a glimpse into the advances occurring around prostate cancer and other men’s health issues.
“I really like these events,” Dr. Garcia admitted. “I really like breaking down barriers. Normally, as a specialist, I am a little bit sheltered in that you need to go through a General Practitioner to get to me. So by doing this I really like to try and break down that particular barrier and allow the inquisitive and interested person to come in and just ask questions and get answers.”
Dr. Garcia, a Consultant in Urology, Specialist in Andrology and Sexual Medicine and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said men often refuse to discuss personal problems they should not be ashamed to talk to a about physician about.
“It’s something that should be easier to talk about,” he admits.
“Men are terrible at talking to each other about problems, particularly sexual problems. Women are good. They do chat about it, so they understand that they’re not alone and they’re ready and willing to seek help.”
Prostate cancer remains the most common male cancer and across Saskatchewan there are roughly 900 new diagnoses and 200 prostate cancer deaths a year.
The session also helped raise awareness of the 2017 Telus Motorcycle Ride For Dad which will be hosted in Swift Current on Saturday, June 10.
Individuals interested in participating in the fourth annual fundraiser hosted in Swift Current can sign up at ridefordad. ca.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that there were 21,600 new cases of prostate cancer in 2016, which represents 21 per cent of all new cancer cases in men.
On average, 59 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer every day.
On average, 11 Canadian men will die from prostate cancer every day. Those approximate 4,000 deaths accounts for 10 per cent of all cancer deaths in men.