Men’s Health Week is observed annually during the week leading up to Father’s Day, so lands this year between 10th and 16th June. Men’s Health Week is designed to promote awareness of men’s and boy’s health issues and encourage them to seek early detection and treatment for preventable health problems. Its timing with Father’s Day provides an excellent opportunity to engage fathers, brothers, sons and male friends in discussions about their health while emphasising the significance of men’s wellbeing within the context of family and community.
Enabling change
Organised by the Men’s Health Forum, this year’s focus is the prostate. Inspired by HRH King Charles II, who shared his prostate condition earlier this year, MHW is encouraging men to talk openly about their health. It’s extremely positive to note that on the day after his announcement, there were 16,410 visits to the relevant National Health Service website page compared with 1,414 visits the previous day – a ten-fold increase. Meanwhile, the charity Prostate Cancer UK saw the number of users of its online risk checker almost double.
Whilst not many of us have as much influence as the King, these figures demonstrate how powerful talking about our health can be in raising awareness and encouraging others to get checked out. To find out more, check out the Men’s Health Forum website page and their new book, launched for Men’s Health Week, ‘P for Prostate’.
It’s time to talk
Of course, there are many other health issues we should be talking about, including mental health, as our own Adam Rymell advocates. To read his story, check out our blog from May: Mental Health Awareness Week. Due to stigma and the resultant reluctance to admit to feeling unwell in some way, men often have a worse bill of health than women but are also less likely to go to the doctor.
STR Group’s Founder and Executive Director, Clive Hutchings, understands the importance of, and advocates men talking about, their physical and mental health:
“I’m often asked, ‘How are you?’ each morning and what do I say? Probably what we wall automatically reply with: ‘I’m good, how are you?’ Of course, this isn’t always true. At one point in time or another, we’ll all be going through some trauma or experiencing illness. Try following up with, ‘But how are you really feeling?’ And if you’re asked, don’t be afraid to talk about what’s really going on – a problem shared is a problem halved and could be the first step on the road to recovery. So – how are you really feeling?”
Clive Hutchings, STR Group’s Founder and Executive Director
If you have any health concerns, contact your GP; the sooner a diagnosis is obtained, the more quickly treatment can begin and the more treatable a condition is. Alternatively, look at the NHS website, follow the links in this blog, and checkout the other resources listed below: