At what age do you want to die?
The first step to longevity is your attitude, beliefs and actions.
HAVE you ever thought about what age you want to live to, what is your expiry date? For 30 years I have been asking that questions of my patients, no matter what they present with. It makes sense to set a target and work backwards.
I remember vividly when in Bluff working as a GP intern, I asked a patient with gout in his big toe what age did he wanted to live to. He looked in shock and replied, ‘‘Why, how bad is my toe?’’
If you want to live to 100 then what are three things that will stop you getting there? When I asked that question in a conference in Masterton recently, among the first three replies was, ‘‘getting shot’’. I said I didn’t know Wairarapa was that dangerous.
All jokes aside, hunting accidents are more common than we think. About 1000 people are injured hunting each year in New Zealand and 41 people died hunting between 2007 and 2016.
In Te Anau, road traffic accidents were listed as a major risk factor. There are 850,000 tourists to Milford Sound each year and only a small percentage go by air. Last week at a conference I asked a man what was going to stop him getting to his selected age and he replied, ‘‘probably the terminal cancer I have just been diagnosed with’’. It was an awkward moment and certainly created some discussion and reflection.
The word ‘‘terminal’’ is an interesting one. By definition, life is terminal. Not all cancer is terminal and I have seen cases over the years when there was no hope but the body decided to fight back and people have survived and thrived. I have seen people who have been given a diagnosis of cancer and who have given up and died prematurely.
Premature death is often caused by an unhealthy attitude. It may be the ostrich in the sand mentality of not wanting to get a test for fearing the result. It may be ignoring symptoms such as rectal bleeding, weight loss and tiredness which may all mean bowel cancer. It may be putting symptoms down to stress or getting older when they may be symptoms of something more sinister.
It may be ignoring a family history of heart disease and stroke and not having your blood pressure or cholesterol checked. It may be not getting vaccinated against Human Papilloma Virus which causes cervical cancer and causes one-third of all head and neck cancers. It could be still getting sunburnt, texting while driving or not wearing your seatbelt.
Thirty years working in emergency departments has been a lifetime of seeing premature disease and death, most of it preventable. Emphysema from smoking, falls from alcohol, amputations from poorly controlled diabetes, whether its type 1 or type 2.
So, sit and think for a minute about what age you want to live – and be active – to. Do you want to get to the average or beyond? Do you want to be fit and active or spend too much time at the doctor or hospital? The first step to longevity is your attitude, beliefs and actions. Assess your risk of premature death and do something to reduce it.
● kyndwellness.com
● drtomonamission.com
● healthythinking.biz
Dr Tom Mulholland is a GP with 30 years’ experience in New Zealand. He’s currently on a mission, tackling health issues around New Zealand.