To Your Health: Men’s health starts with screening

June is Men’s Health Month, including Fathers’ Day on Sunday, June 16, so it’s a good opportunity to touch on a couple of conditions that affect many men in the United States.

We’ll spend some time on cardiovascular health and prostate health with this column, but first, it’s important to consider an underlying problem when it comes to men maintaining their wellness – many don’t see a doctor regularly, far fewer do so yearly, as they should.

In fact, studies have shown that men are 33 percent less likely than women to get yearly checkups. This is an issue, because visits with your primary care physician while you’re well are the best way to keep tabs on your health and make sure you’re getting appropriate screenings for your age and family history.

So, my first recommendation is, if you’re not already seeing your doctor every year to discuss your health, start that practice right away. If you don’t have a primary care physician, find one you like, and establish a rapport that will help you manage your health for years to come.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s remind ourselves of the nationwide impact of cardiovascular disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the U.S., so it’s always important to be aware of it and take steps to reduce your risks.

When you visit your primary care physician for your yearly checkup, your doctor will check your blood pressure, review your lab work to monitor your cholesterol levels and blood sugar, and talk to you about your lifestyle, habits and family history.

This is how you and your doctor keep track of your risk factors and set you on a path to ward off serious complications like heart attack and stroke.

Prostate health is also something men want to think about as they age. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer affecting men, after skin cancer. Part of our reproductive system, the prostate gland is responsible for producing some of the fluid that contains semen.

As we age, it’s common for the prostate to become enlarged, but when healthy prostate cells begin to grow and function in abnormal ways, a cancerous tumor can develop.

Some common symptoms of prostate cancer include:

Frequent urination, particularly at night

Straining to urinate or having weak flow

Pain or burning while urinating

Blood in urine or semen

These symptoms are not proof that you have cancer. In fact, they can be associated with an enlarged benign prostate. But if you experience any of them, it might be time to begin yearly cancer screenings.

In general, men between the ages of 55 and 69 typically benefit most from prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests. These blood tests screen for elevated PSA levels, which can indicate prostate cancer. Talk to your doctor about symptoms and family history to determine if you would benefit from yearly PSA tests.

Prostate cancer, especially when confined to the prostate, is curable through surgery and/or radiation therapy.

To reduce your risk of prostate cancer, you can follow some lifestyle practices that, unsurprisingly, also help prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce risk of heart attack and stroke. Exercise, eat a balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight, and avoid smoking at all costs. And remember, go see your doctor every year to keep up on your risk factors and manage them.

Dr. Alfred Casale, a cardiothoracic surgeon, is chief medical officer for surgical services for Geisinger and chair of the Geisinger Heart and Vascular Institute. Readers may write to him via ae@www.timesleader.com.