TV doctor Hilary Jones has urged men to "get over" the embarrassment of going to the doctor as he shares the most common problems affecting them. To mark Men's Health Week, Dr Jones has been speaking to The Mirror about the biggest health concerns currently faced by men.
They include heart disease, cancer and mental health, with suicide being the most common cause of death among men under 45. He said: "Men do bottle up their feelings, they don't talk about their emotions like women are able to do so, and often people don't notice when a guy is seriously anxious or depressed and that's something we need to be more aware of."
He discussed how heart disease is something doctors are seeing much more of due to "more inactivity and more obesity" It's a "major problem" he admits.
Leave your messages of condolence for the three people who lost their lives in the tragic Nottingham attacks here.
Prostate cancer has been described as a 'silent killer' given that it is a symptomless disease in the early stages, with the only way to check being a bloody test. But the disease is also responsible for killing 12,000 men a year in the UK.
Dr Jones said: "We don't have a really good prostate screening possibility at the moment, although we're looking into it and we're going to get better at it. So many men are reluctant to be investigated for prostate problems. You know they're embarrassed and men need to get over that embarrassment as well."
But in terms of testicular cancer, Dr Jones added: "Men just need to know what their balls feel like and report any changes that are out of the ordinary. It's important to know that one testicle generally hangs lower than the other.
"They're often not the same size and little lumps and bumps are quite common and are usually just cysts or collections of fluid. But if anything else changes or you find you've got a painless lump on the testicle itself, get it checked out urgently.
"It's actually quite difficult to examine the scrotum unless you're a professional because you've got veins, you've got the spermatic duct, you've got the testicle and you've got nerves and sometimes collections of fluid there. A worm-like swelling is usually one of the ducts or a collection of veins, which we call a Varicocele.
"A testicular cancer this more suspicious, and would be a well-defined, smooth swelling, usually smooth or craggy swelling on the testicle itself not around it. It would be part of the testicle itself. All the other little cysts and varicose veins feel wormlike and are very mobile."
Read next:
- Passenger with trapped walking stick dragged by tram for 3 seconds
- Inquest opens into man, 23, who died after amateur boxing match
- Yellow weather warning in place as thunderstorms expected across county
- Nottingham Forest defender donates £500 as Ian Coates fundraiser nears £10,000 target
- Police statement after air ambulance called to serious Nottingham crash near A52
