Howard County is hosting the 2nd annual Men's Health Fair today with free health screenings, confidential HIV testing and healthy snacks.

The event is being held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Long Reach High School, 6101 Old Dobbin Road in Columbia. The event aims to help men take the initital steps toward a healthier lifestyle.

The day will also include fitness demonstrations, nutritional counseling and tips on meal planning. The Long Reach Culinary Arts Program is providing the snacks.

The event is hosted by Howard County Council Member Calvin Ball, Congressman Elijah Cummings and the Howard County Health Department.

Posted by Andrea Walker at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's health
        

More on Prostate Awareness Week:

Some prostate cancer experts are making screenings available this week for free or low cost. The Prostate Conditions Educations Council is coordinating the screenings and is encouraging men to get checked.

 “Right now, many men are confused about the benefits of prostate cancer screenings,” said Dr. E. David Crawford, head of the urologic oncology department at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and founder/chairman of the council, in a statement. “The truth is prostate cancer can be quite aggressive and screening is safe. We want men to understand that screening is necessary to detect this disease.”

The council recommends a baseline prostate health assessment, including the prostate-specific antigen  blood test, known as the PSA test, and a digital rectal exam for men at age 35. Each person’s doctor can determine when the next test should be done.

To find a screening, go to http://www.prostateconditions.org/screening-site-finder or call 866-4PROST8.

Some Maryland site are on the next page.

Continue reading "Find a prostate cancer screening this week" »

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's health
        

If you think the dome at Johns Hopkins Hospital on North Broadway appears to be glowing blue, it is.

The dome is being lit blue in honor of prostate cancer awareness week, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. It will stay blue until Saturday.

Hospital officials want to draw attention to prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer in American men. An estimated 217,000 men will be diagnosed with the cancer this year. Some 32,000 will die.

Like many other diseases, if it's diagnosed early, it can be cured. So, officials are urging men 50 and older, or 45 for African Americans, to talk to their doctors about whether it's appropriate to be tested.

It is a slow progessing disease, and sometimes no immediate treatment is recommended. But that's between you and your doctor. 

Photo courtesy of Johns Hopkins  
 

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's health
        

About one in 10 fathers experience prenatal or postpartum depression, with those at greatest risk if their partner also is depressed, new research has found.

Dads had the highest rates of depression in the three to six months after a baby was born -- 26 percent. Consider that in the general population, just 5 percent of men are considered depressed at any given time. Dads had the lowest rate -- about 8 percent -- in the immediate postpartum period, just before three months, according to the study  appearing today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

While clinicians and researchers talk a lot about the very serious effects depression can have on women and their families while they're carrying a baby and in the postpartum period, there's little understanding on the impact of fathers who struggle with depression, the report explains.

Even less is understood about why fathers struggle with depression after the birth of a child. Researchers think the reasons are similar to why mothers get depressed -- financial stress and sleep deprivation among others, this NPR piece explains. But there may be other issues particular to dads, just as mothers have their own concerns, including hormonal changes.

Researchers did an analysis of some 43 studies involving 28,000 participants to take a closer look at the phenomenon. The findings indicate a "significant public health concern" that a lot of doctors may be overlooking, researchers said.

Continue reading "Dads get the baby blues too" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's health
        

Doctors should educate their patients better about the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening, according to new guidelines from the American Cancer Society.

Physicians should discuss the downsides to the blood test, known as prostate-specific antigen screening, or PSA, including potential diagnosis of cancers that may never harm them or kill them and along the way, exposing them to unnecessary treatment, the recommendations say.

The guidelines also question the use of digital rectal exams saying they should be considered optional, not a standard part of screening.

The guidelines come on the heels of several studies that raise doubts about PSA testing. The recommendations reference early findings of two long-range studies underway about screening.

In one, researchers randomly assigned 76,600 men to two groups. One received annual PSA tests for 6 years and digital rectal examinations every year for 4 years and the other was the control. Researchers found little difference in prostate cancer death rates between the two groups after 7 years and again after a decade.

We reported here about a study last year raising concerns that men are being overtreated for the disease and as a result, subjected to unnecessary biopsies and treatment. And another study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that men are not getting adequate counseling from their doctors on the risks of screening. 

Continue reading "American Cancer Society urges more education on prostate cancer screening" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Cancer, Men's health