By the way . . . Movember message to last all year

IT’S Movember, the time of year when males globally give up the razor. Men are notoriously bad at going to the doctor. Nonsensical, when you consider their life expectancy is on average four years lower than for women.

Men’s reticence in seeking medical help is often either based on a misguided macho belief or a morbid fear that something is actually wrong. Whatever way we get the point across, the men in our lives need help when it comes to recognising, registering and reacting to medical issues.

For example, don’t give out to him about rogue wet puddles in the bathroom — get him to the GP. If his stream is slower, he is having difficulty getting started or is dribbling afterwards, then something’s up with the prostate. Annoying interruptions during the night when he has to spend a penny may also point to a problem.

Thankfully, most prostate cancers are not lethal. The statistics still show that his lifetime risk of getting it is one in eight. However, not all symptoms that suggest the prostate is playing up necessarily mean cancer. The most common problem is enlargement, where the prostate gets big and puts pressure on the water pipe (a condition seen in 40% of men over the age of 50).

A visit to the GP usually involves a chat, a wee sample, a blood test and a quick exam of the gland itself. The latter is the thing that scares men the most, but anyone who has had this examination will tell you it literally takes seconds.

And while we are down there, let’s talk testicles. Testicular cancer normally affects men from their late teens to mid 40s but can occur at any age. If there’s any ache, lump or swelling in this area, he should seek help. The good news is that most lumps in the testicle aren’t cancer and also if testicular cancer is caught early, the outcome is excellent.

But the key message is that if there seems to be something wrong, get him down to the doctor’s surgery. There is no reason for any man to die of embarrassment.