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REAL PATIENTS. REAL STORIES. Live Longer, Live Stronger SSmart Smart strategies to defuse men’s top health threats 35, Reynolds had several colonoscopies in his 30s and 40s before getting an all-clear report when he was 48. Later, when bleeding cropped Staying in shape is a priority for Wayne Reynolds. “I’ve always been extremely health conscious,” says the 55-year-old bank senior vice president. Because of bleeding polyps when he was up again, internal hemorrhoids were diagnosed. But Reynolds felt that it wasn’t a big enough deal to want to take time away from his busy work and family life. When Reynolds finally scheduled repair surgery in 2010, the surgeon discovered Reynolds also had a tumor in his colon. It took almost a year of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to treat the stage-three cancer. “If I had acted sooner, I might have been diagnosed with stage-one colon cancer,” Reynolds says. “It’s best to err on the side of current inconvenience instead of long-term inconvenience.” Although he still struggles with chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, making it difficult to feel his feet and be as active as he would like, today Reynolds’ cancer is gone and he is relieved. Watch Wayne’s Story To hear more about Wayne’s story, visit BaylorHealth.com/Healthcast today. Wayne Reynolds survived colon cancer, thanks to his good sense to see a doctor when he did and the support of his wife, Martha. 4 To download a tipsheet about men’s health at midlife, visit BaylorHealth.com/Healthcast
Like Reynolds, you may think you’re too busy for an annual physical, screening test or minor medical procedure. But “sacrificing an hour or an afternoon or even two or three days of your life is a lot more efficient than sacrificing weeks and months of your life” for treating more-advanced disease, Reynolds says. Here’s what you can do to guard against common diseases that strike men: THREAT: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Strategy: Get your numbers in line “The number-one killer of men is cardiovascular disease,” says Heather Bass, M.D., a family medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at McKinney. When fatty plaque deposits build up in blood vessels, they can cause heart attack or stroke. Just like tracking business goals, you can’t measure your progress if you don’t know your numbers. Keep an eye on your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. “Generally speaking, you’re not going to feel bad from high blood pressure or cholesterol,” Dr. Bass says. “So you don’t know you have them until you get the screening done.” Improving your diet and exercise habits can help modify weight and cholesterol and blood pressure levels. If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, medication may help reduce your heart disease risk. THREAT: CANCER Strategy: Talk to your doctor about necessary screenings Lung, prostate and colon cancer are the top three cancers in men. “Screening is the biggest way to catch colon cancer in its early stages,” Dr. Bass explains. “Anytime you can catch a cancer early, before it spreads, you have a better outcome.” If everyone older than 50 would get recommended screening tests, colon cancer deaths could be reduced by as much as 60 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. “It’s important to have regular visits with your primary care doctor so you know if you need to screen earlier,” Dr. Bass says. You can also discuss the risks and benefits of screening for prostate cancer by means of a digital rectal exam or prostate-specific antigen testing. Smoking is the culprit for about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men. “If you don’t smoke, don’t start,” Dr. Bass says. “If you do, quit.” See your doctor if you experience symptoms such as chest pain, chronic cough, coughing up blood or unexplained weight loss. THREAT: DIABETES Strategy: Be physically active and lose a little bit of weight Being overweight and inactive are two major risk factors for type 2 diabetes. “Losing weight and exercising have been proven to decrease your risk of developing diabetes,” Dr. Bass says. Losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight can delay or prevent diabetes, according to a National Institutes of Health study. Even without weight loss, exercise can help lower blood sugar, other research has shown. “Diabetes affects every system in the body,” Dr. Bass says. Uncontrolled high blood sugar puts you at risk for heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney disease, erectile dysfunction, and nerve damage that causes a loss of feeling in the feet and legs. It can be hard to make time for your health in the midst of work and family responsibilities, Reynolds acknowledges. “But if I’m gone, I can’t take care of my family. Your physical health is more important than anything else.” Acting now can preserve your ability to enjoy life in the future. “You need to catch these health conditions in their early stages,” Dr. Bass says, “so you can prevent complications as you get older that can limit your ability to be active.” Should You Head to the ER “There are situations in which it is clear that you need to go straight to an emergency room,” says Christa Lambert, emergency department manager at Baylor Medical Center at McKinney. “But other times, it’s not such an easy decision.” As a general rule, Lambert advises people to use urgent care centers for ailments such as earaches, throat pain, fevers that can be controlled with medication, simple sprains and cuts, or during evening and weekend hours when your doctor’s office is closed. Should you require emergency care, Baylor McKinney’s emergency room is ready for you. “We are a full-service ER, which means we are capable of stabilizing all emergent conditions,” Lambert says. “We utilize electronic health records as well, which increases the safety and timeliness of care. In addition, we work closely with local EMS providers to provide seamless, quality care to the community.” More Than an ER Emergency care is just one of the services offered at Baylor McKinney. Learn more at BaylorHealth.com/McKinney. Emergency photo: ©Blend Images/Photoshot BaylorHealth.com 5
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