Cook County Health Recognizes National Men's Health Week
National Men's Health Week is June 11-17. At Cook County Health, our staff is dedicated to ensuring that men have access to the care they need when they need it most.
Cook County Health is using this week to raise awareness of preventable health problems that afflict men, and encourage early detection and treatment, particularly of these three conditions:
Mental health - Male depression is more likely than depression in females to go undiagnosed, as men are less likely than women to seek help for depression or substance use disorders. Between 2000 and 2016, there was a 21 percent increase in suicide among boys and men, according to the American Psychological Association. Symptoms of depression include:
o Feeling sad or withdrawn for more than two weeks
o Trying to harm or kill oneself or making plans to do so
o Severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
o Drastic changes in behavior
o Extreme difficulty in concentrating or staying still
Prostate cancer - Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. About 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men older than 65 and it is more prevalent in African Americans than Caucasians. Early prostate cancer causes no symptoms, but advanced cancer can show the following symptoms:
o Problems urinating
o Blood in the urine
o Difficulty getting an erection
o Pain in the hips, back, chest
o Weakness or numbness in the legs or feet
Most prostate cancers are first found during a screening with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test.
Heart disease/hypertension - Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, but half of the men who die suddenly for coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms. High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease and at least half of all Americans have at least one of those symptoms.
Men are less likely than women to visit their physician yearly. If it's been more than a year since you visited your doctor, make that call today. And if you don't have a physician, call Cook County Health at 312-864-0200.