Men’s health special
JUNE 2019 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 25
❛The screening test sent
inthe post saved my life❜CASE STUDY
For Mike Powell, 65, a retired IT
business consultant from Cheltenham,
being kept under surveillance allowed
for prompt medical intervention.
When the bowel cancer screening kit
arrived in the post two years ago, I sent
off my sample. I had no symptoms, no family history of
bowel cancer and I wasn’t overweight. I suppose my only
risk factor was a weakness for bacon butties and pork pies!
Soon afterwards, there was a letter and another kit
asking me to redo my test. I was asked to come in for a
colonoscopy, where a thin tube with a camera on the end
is inserted into the bowel via the rectum to check for
abnormalities. They found a small polyp and removed it
via a keyhole (TEMS) procedure. It was revealed to be
cancerous, and I was put on a surveillance programme.
Nine months later, during an ultrasound, the consultant
detected a shadow in the area below where the polyp
hadbeen.Furtherinvestigationsrevealedthecancerous
cellshadspreadintothesurroundinglymphglandsand
I neededsurgerytoremovea sectionofmybowel.Findingsupport
I didn’tneedanyfurthertreatmentandwastoldI wascancer
free.It wasa greatrelief,butit wasstilla lottodealwith
psychologically.I gotincontactwiththecharityMaggie’s
andwenttosupportgroupmeetings,eventhoughI wasone
ofonlytwomenina groupof12.I foundthema tremendous
help– it’sa shamemoremendon’tmakeuseofthem.
I’mnoweatinga healthydiet,includingvegetables
grownonourallotment.I’msoluckymycancerwas
caughtearly.I tellallmyfriendstosendbacktheir
screeningsamples– it couldsavetheirlife.DEPRESSION
A low mood can be
serious: 75% of
suicides in the UK
are in men, and it is
the most common cause of death in
men aged 20 to 49. ‘If you suffer from
low mood or depression, see your
GP to get some help,’ urges David.
‘Counselling, other talking therapies
or a short course of antidepressants
can help you cope.’ Adopting a
healthier diet and getting enough
exercise can also improve your mood.SMOKING
Most of us know that
smoking tobacco isn’t
good for our health,
but the statistics still
make bleak reading. Smoking caused
an estimated 115,000 deaths in the
UK in 2015 – almost a fifth of all deaths
from all causes – and it was responsible
for an estimated 43,000 UK deaths
from cancer in 2010. Contact
nhs.uk/smokefree for information
and a Personal Quit Plan to help
you give up for good.
ERECTILE
DYSFUNCTION
Apart from affecting
your sex life, ED can
be an early warning
sign of health problems such as blocked
arteries due to heart disease or diabetes.
It affects one in three men aged 50 to 64
and 40% of those aged 65 to 84. ‘The
penis is a barometer of health for the
male body,’ says Dr David Edwards.
‘Don’t ignore the warning signs. It may
also be a sign of psychological problems
and a need for counselling.’your sample off to a laboratory. If traces
of blood are found, you’ll be invited for
a colonoscopy – where a thin flexible
tube with a camera on the end is inserted
into the bowel to check for cancer.
The NHS is also rolling out an
endoscopic test to those aged 55 to
examine the left side of the bowel
(where 70% of tumours are found).
New treatments and early detection
have greatly improved bowel cancer
survival rates – but the earlier it’s detected,
the greater your chance of survival.
● Learn more at bowelcanceruk.org.uk
and maggiescentres.org.