Medical Monday : Men’s Health

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - June is Men’s Health Month. Vanessa Symonick spoke to a family medical physician to talk about the importance of men keeping up on their regular screenings and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in their day-to-day life.

Dr. Brian Adrian: : “June is men’s health month and so we encourage all men over the age of 18 to make a visit to their primary care doctor”.

Brian Adrian is a family medicine physician at AR Gould’s Fort Fairfield Health Center and talks about the importance of men keeping up on their screenings and maintaining a healthy lifestyle starting with an annual physical.

Adrian: “Generally, we recommend that adult males have an annual exam once a year and that is to talk about regular health promotion, healthy lifestyle”.

And during those annual visits he says that men should be keeping up on their vaccines and screenings. He says most types of screenings depend on the age of the patient starting with patients at the age of 35.

Adrian: “At age 35 we recommend to start with screening for diabetes or high cholesterol. At age 45 we recommend colorectal cancer screening. At age 55 we recommend prostate screening. And at age 65 for any men that have smoked more than one hundred cigarettes in their life, we recommend screening for an abdominal aortic aneurism”.

He also says there are some exceptions to the age at which screenings start based on things such as a family history or based on race specifically in cases like prostate cancer screenings.

Adrian: “Prostate cancer generally shows up a little later in life, but that’s not always true. For instance, for men with a significant family history of prostate cancer, we generally screen earlier. African Americans we also screen earlier because they tend to show prostate cancer at an earlier age.”

And he wants to send this message to men when it comes to making sure they maintain a healthy lifestyle in their day-to-day life.

Adrian: “For most men, we recognize when everyone’s busy and that an annual physical exam may not necessarily be in their plans, but it’s important in prevention. And you know an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure.”

Vanessa Symonick Newssouce 8.

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