talking about Men s Health...

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Denis Johns
6 years ago
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1 Usdaw talkig about Me s Health... Male Cacers

2 This leaflet is desiged to raise me s awareess of the importace of maitaiig their health, particularly whe it comes to cacer. It highlights the two most commo male specific cacers ad explais how to spot the early warig sigs so you ca get checked out. Me with cacer may well eed the support of their Usdaw rep ad of their employer. I some cases me with cacer ca fid themselves caught up i absece maagemet schemes which do ot take accout of their coditio. The leaflet therefore also sets out what reps ad employers ca do to help me with cacer.

3 Why Me s Health? Me have bee otoriously poor at lookig after themselves; ever more so tha whe it comes to cacer. Me are far less likely tha wome to use primary healthcare services, ad are ofte reluctat to seek help util they have poor health. However, me are more likely tha wome to both develop ad die from the 10 most commo cacers affectig both sexes. I this leaflet we look at the two most commo forms of male specific cacers, testicular ad prostate, ad how Usdaw reps ca make a differece at work for me livig with cacer. Me are much more reluctat tha wome to visit their GP about health problems. This meas the workplace ca be a good way of reachig me with iformatio ad guidace about cacer. Testicular Cacer Early detectio is the key to successfully treatig cacer. Testicular cacer is oe of the most treatable of all cacers with approximately 95% of me makig a full recovery. The causes of testicular cacer are ot fully uderstood, however it is thought that up to 1 i 5 me have a icreased risk of developig it as a result of a iherited faulty gee. Ulike most cacers it is more commo i youg ad middle-aged me, most commoly affectig me betwee the ages of 15 ad 44. It is also more commo i white me, compared with other racial groups. It is also more commo i Norther ad Wester Europe tha i ay other part of the world. The MOT The most commo symptom of testicular cacer is a lump or swellig i oe testicle. However it is importat to bear i mid that most testicular lumps are ot a sig of cacer. Research has show that less tha 4% of testicular lumps are cacerous. Nevertheless this does ot mea that you should igore a lump or swellig.

4 Other symptoms ca iclude: A dull ache or pai i your testicles or scrotum. A feelig of heaviess i your scrotum. A dull ache i your lower abdome. A sudde collectio of fluid i your scrotum. Geerally feelig uwell. If you do otice a lump or abormality it is essetial you first see your GP. Although most lumps are ot cacerous early diagosis meas a much more effective treatmet if it proves to be otherwise. The three mai forms of treatmet are surgery, chemotherapy ad radiotherapy. Surgery is the most commo ad effective form of treatmet ad is ormally the first lie of treatmet for all stages ad types. Prostate Cacer Prostate cacer is a form of cacer that develops i the prostate, a glad i the male reproductive system. It teds to develop i me over 50 ad is oe of the most prevalet types of cacer i me. Aroud 1 i 8 me will develop prostate cacer at some poit i their lives. I the UK, aroud 10,000 me die aually from the disease. It is ot uderstood why, but Africa Caribbea me are three times more likely to get prostate cacer, whereas me of Asia descet are less likely tha others. Oe of the tricky situatios is that early prostate cacer usually causes o clear symptoms. However, the most commo symptoms iclude frequet uriatio, icreased uriatio at ight, difficulty startig ad maitaiig a steady stream of uriatio, blood i the urie ad paiful uriatio. The specific causes of prostate cacer remai largely ukow. However, a ma s risk of developig it is age related ad is almost exclusively amogst me over 50. Other factors are geetics ad race. The MOT The prostate is a small walut-sized glad situated ear the bladder. Tell-tale sigs iclude difficulty i passig water, a icreased frequecy ad/or pai whe uriatig.

5 There are three mai types of prostate problem: Beig Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), which is a elargemet of the glad typical i older me. Prostatitis, which is a iflammatio of the glad ad ca affect me at ay age ad is paiful. Ad fially, actual prostate cacer. As with testicular cacer, screeig is essetial, especially for catchig it at its early stages. However, ayoe who feels they may have the symptoms should visit their GP as soo as possible. Role of the Workplace The workplace ca be helpful i reachig me with the right messages about cacer. Employers ca help by makig sure iformatio about me s cacers is available at work. This should stress the age groups most at risk, the importace of self checkig for symptoms ad of goig to the GP for advice. It makes sese for employers to do this. Helpig to keep staff healthy is i the employers iterest. Employers may wish to publicise details of drop i cetres that ca give advice about male cacers ad health promotio activity. The Equality Act ad Cacer The Equality Act ad the Disability Discrimiatio Act (DDA) i Norther Irelad, prevet employers from treatig ay oe who has cacer ufairly. From the momet a perso is diagosed as havig cacer they are covered by the Acts eve if they are ot yet experiecig ay symptoms or udergoig medical treatmet. The Acts also cover those who have bee diagosed with cacer i the past. The Acts require employers to make reasoable adjustmets to the workplace ad to policies ad procedures. This might mea allowig time off for treatmet, chagig a persos workig hours or makig adjustmets to sickess absece policies to take accout of ay disability related absece. For more iformatio about how the Equality Act or DDA i Norther Irelad ca help, get hold of a copy of Usdaw's Supportig Disabled Members leaflet.

6 Help ad support Macmilla Cacer Support Tel: , Mo-Fri, 9am to 8pm website: Cacer Research UK Tel: , Mo-Fri, 9am to 5pm website: Orchid Natioal Male Cacer Helplie Helplie: , Mo-Wed, 10am to 5pm website: Usdaw Cotacts To fid out more about joiig Usdaw cotact: Cetral Office Usdaw, 188 Wilmslow Road, Machester M14 6LJ Tel: website: South Wales ad Wester Divisio Tel: Easter Divisio Tel: Midlads Divisio Tel: North Easter Divisio Tel: Scottish Divisio Tel: Souther Divisio Tel: North West Divisio Tel: Sca here to view this leaflet o your mobile* *to sca the code, dowload a QR reader app from your app store. A charge may be applied by your etwork provider. MH1 July 2014 Published by Usdaw, 188 Wilmslow Road, Machester M14 6LJ

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