June is Men’s Health Awareness Month, by Dr. Kenneth Rose, MD

06 Jun June is Men’s Health Awareness Month, by Dr. Kenneth Rose, MD

June is Men’s Health Awareness month, and it’s a good time to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injuries unique to men.  Although males outnumber females at birth (115 males for every 100 females), American men live sicker lives and die younger — on average, five years earlier — than women.

So which is the weaker sex? Men have a higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, injuries, stroke and suicide than women.  According to the CDC, women are 100% more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and preventive services than men.  So a great place for men to start to reverse these poor statistics is to visit their friendly healthcare provider and adopt preventive health measures.

To quote Congressman Bill Richardson, “Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue.  Because of its impact on wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters, men’s health is truly a family issue. ”

May men strive to remain “young” with healthy lifestyle habits and preventive health measures.

Dr. Kenneth Rose is the general surgeon at Wallowa Memorial Hospital, and a leader in lifestyle medicine.