Dr DRE may save your life
Dr Tom Mulholland is an Emergency Department Doctor and GP with over 25 years’ experience in New Zealand. He’s currently a man on a mission, tackling health missions around the world.
As Men’s Health Month draws to a close, it’s important to reflect on why men need a health month and if it makes a difference. After a series of speaking engagements around the country including Fieldays, I am convinced it does.
The sad fact is that men on average die earlier than women, their lives cut short by preventable diseases.
This was evident at one A&P show where we had our ambulance and were doing free health checks.
As the three-day event came to a close, we were packing up our gear when a man in his late 40s shuffled up and in a reluctant voice said: ‘‘I suppose I had better get a health check as my wife has been hassling me to get one.’’
When asked how long his wife had been recommending he get a health check he said, ‘‘About 20 years!’’ I said it would really have been easier just to have the check.
On further questioning, I asked why he had come over after three days of staring at us from his trade stand. He replied there were three men on the stand and they had played paper, scissors, rock to find out who had to come – he had lost.
It’s little wonder men die early with that attitude and a reluctance to get to the doctor. One of the proposed reasons women live longer is that, traditionally, they took the kids to the doctor and would often get checked at the same time.
I suspect one of the reasons men don’t want to go to the doctor is fear of what is known as the DRE (Digital Rectal Examination).
In that procedure, doctors use a finger to assess the size and consistency of the prostate gland, palpable through the rectum. Having given thousands of DREs, and received a few myself at check-up time, I don’t know what all the fuss is about.
What is over in a few seconds most often provides assurance that all is well, but occasionally picks up an inconsistency that may require referral to a urologist to get your plumbing checked.
At the age of 50, I recommend getting annual prostate checks as part of your warrant of fitness.
Many prostate problems are not cancerous but are due to our prostates enlarging as we get older.
What was once a walnut-sized gland that encircles the outlet from the bladder can grow into the size of a mandarin or larger.
If you are a male, have urinary symptoms such as reduced flow, dribbling, getting up in the night or urgently needing to urinate, get your prostate checked, no matter what age you are.
A blood test for PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) measures proteins in the blood released by the prostate gland. So, a rise in PSA can mean an enlarged prostate, infection or cancer. The DRE test is still required as a normal blood test doesn’t mean you don’t have cancer.
For more information, visit prostate.org.nz or see your doctor. At one of the breakfasts I spoke at, Phil Gifford (aka Loosehead Len) launched his book Looking after your Nuts and Bolts. It’s a great read and features common stories from Kiwis who have had things go wrong. It’s a read that may save your life.
I suspect one of the reasons men don’t want to go to the doctor is fear of what is known as the DRE (Digital Rectal Examination). In that procedure, doctors use a finger to assess the size and consistency of the prostate gland.