LTB 190/24 - Men’s Health Week 2024 - Monday 10 – Sunday 16 June – Theme - ‘Let’s Talk Prostate’ & ‘Mens Health Counts:’

No. 190/24

6th June 2024

Dear Colleagues,

Men’s Health Week 2024 – Monday 10 – Sunday 16 June – Theme – ‘Let’s Talk Prostate’ & ‘Mens Health Counts:’

Men’s Health Week 2024 in the UK will run from Monday 10 June until Sunday 16 June. The event is organised in the UK by the ‘Men’s Health Forum’ (MHF). It aims to raise awareness of health issues that affect men disproportionately and encourages men to become more aware of potential health problems they may have or could develop and to gain the courage to take action and do something about it.

The key aims for Men’s Health Week (MHW) each year is to let as many people as possible know when it is happening. To do this, there needs to be a common set of promotional tools.

International Men’s Health Week (MHW) always begins on the Monday before Father’s Day and ends on Father’s Day itself. During 2024, it will run from Monday 10th until Sunday 16th June.

MHW is celebrated in many European countries, as well as in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a number of other places worldwide.

The overall aims of the week are to:

Heighten awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages.

Support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices / activities.

Encourage the early detection and treatment of health difficulties in males.

Each year, there is also a specific theme. During 2024, the theme for the UK will be ‘Lets Talk Prostate’ and the key message to everyone is ‘men’s health counts’.

This is a population-wide attempt to increase awareness of the key numbers that policy makers / service providers / men / important people in men’s lives need to know. Sometimes, these will relate to individual medical issues (e.g. blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol level), but they also include key statistics on the state of men’s health in Ireland, as well as the contact numbers for helpline and support services.

MHW gives everyone (health professionals, service providers, sporting bodies, community groups, employers, policy makers, the media, churches, individuals …) an opportunity to encourage men and boys to take better care of their health and to seek help or treatment at an early stage.

The Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) coordinates activity on the island of Ireland and cooperates with other Men’s Health Fora across Europe, and further afield, to mark this week.

Why is there a need to hold a Men’s Health Week? … Males constitute almost 50% of the population and therefore, deserve to have a gender lens focused upon their specific health needs. Research clearly how that men experience a disproportionate burden of ill-health and die too young …

Men die younger than women do.

Males have higher death rates than females for almost all of the leading causes of death and at all ages.

Men’s poorer lifestyles are responsible for a high proportion of chronic diseases.

Late presentation to health services can lead to a large number of problems becoming untreatable …

Indeed, while many of these conditions are preventable, their prevalence amongst men may, in fact, rise in the future.

This is a population-wide attempt to increase awareness amongst Men and amongst key numbers of policy makers / service providers / important people in men’s lives that need to know. Sometimes, these relate to medical issues (e.g. blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol level), but they also need to include key statistics on the state of men’s health (or ill health), as well as the contact numbers for helpline and support services that can maintain men’s health.

Common cancers in UK men:

1 Prostate cancer

55,000 new cases a year Possible symptoms: weak or reduced urine flow, need to urinate frequently, difficulty or pain passing urine, blood in urine or semen. Lifestyle risk factors: there is strong evidence that being overweight or obese is a cause of advanced prostate cancer. It’s the more aggressive type and can be fatal. Early detection: men aged 50 and over may be advised to have a PSA test by their doctor, usually if they have some of the symptoms above. It is an initial test for helping diagnosis but as raised levels of PSA can also be caused by other conditions, it can’t on its own confirm if someone has the disease. For more information, visit: cancerscreening.nhs.uk/prostate.

2 Bowel cancer

25,000 new cases a year. Possible symptoms: bleeding from the back passage, abdominal pain, change in bowel habits, a lump in the abdomen. Lifestyle risk factors: a diet high in red and processed meat, being overweight or obese, a diet low in fibre (found in foods such as vegetables, fruit, wholegrains (like wholewheat pasta) and pulses (beans, peas and lentils), not doing enough physical activity, smoking, and drinking alcohol. Early detection: the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme provides screening for all men (and women) aged 60 and over, and from 50 in Scotland. For more information, visit: cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel.

3 Lung cancer About

25,000 new cases a year. Possible symptoms: a cough that lasts for more than two or three weeks, coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and stubborn chest infections. Lifestyle risk factors: smoking causes over 90 per cent of lung cancers in men, so the most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to not smoke or give up smoking. Taking high-dose Vitamin A supplements can also increase the risk of lung cancer in current and ex-smokers. Early detection: if you’re concerned, get checked out by your doctor.

4 Skin cancer (melanoma)

9,000 new cases a year. Possible symptoms: the development of a new mole or an existing one that has increased in size, changed shape (especially with an irregular edge), become darker in colour, has become itchy, inflamed or started bleeding; or a change to the skins appearance. Lifestyle risk factors: ultraviolet light from sun exposure or sunbed use. Early detection: get any changes to your skin or moles checked by your doctor.

5 Kidney cancer

About 7,600 new cases a year Possible symptoms: no obvious symptoms in the early stages. Blood in the urine may be detected. Lifestyle risk factors: being overweight or obese, and smoking.

Having any of the symptoms described doesn’t mean that you have cancer, but it’s best to visit your doctor and get checked out. It’s also a good idea to find out if any types of cancer run in your family, and to speak to your doctor if you are concerned.

General advice to me to reduce the Cancer risks and other key health risks:-

 Be a healthy weight

Keep your weight within the healthy range and avoid weight gain in adult life

Be physically active

Be physically active as part of everyday life – walk more and sit less

Eat a diet rich in wholegrains, vegetables, fruit and beans

Make wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, and pulses (legumes) such as beans and lentils a major part of your usual daily diet

Limit consumption of ‘fast foods’ and other processed foods high in fat, starches or sugars

Limiting these foods helps control calorie intake and maintain a healthy weight

Limit consumption of red and processed meat

Eat no more than moderate amounts of red meat, such as beef, pork and lamb. Eat little, if any, processed meat

Limit consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks

Drink mostly water and unsweetened drinks

Limit alcohol consumption

For cancer prevention, it’s best not to drink alcohol

Do not use supplements for cancer prevention

Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone

For mothers: breastfeed your baby, if you can

Breastfeeding is good for both mother and baby

After a cancer diagnosis: follow our Recommendations, if you can

Check with your health professional what is right for you

Not smoking and avoiding other exposure to tobacco and excess sun are also important in reducing cancer risk.

Following these Recommendations is likely to reduce intakes of salt, saturated and trans fats, which together will help prevent other non-communicable diseases. C

P For Prostate – New Mens Health Forum ‘Man Mini-Manual’ Booklet Guide

Mens Health Forum are launching a new ‘Man Mini Manual’ Booklet “P For Prostate” (see attached cover image). This booklet and guide looks at all aspects of the prostate – from where it is and what it does through to various problems it can cause for men. The manual launches during Men’s Health Week.

Whatever your age, ‘P FOR PROSTATE’ aims to explain everything you need to know in one easy-to-read booklet.

Where it is and how it works

What can go wrong

Signs and symptoms

Tests and examinations

All aspects of prostate health

Living with prostate issues

“Don’t procrastinate. Know your prostate.”

Written by Jim Pollard (with big thanks to our partners Prostate Cancer UK and Cancer Black Care) with cartoons by John Byrne, the 36 page full colour booklet is the perfect introduction to the prostate: a sex organ men need to know more about. ‘Men’s Health Forum man manuals: men’s health made easy.’

The Men’s Health Forum was a member of the now-defunct NHS England Information Standard but MHF continues to try to follow the guidelines the Standard set down. This means the manual is fully-referenced, has been peer-reviewed by our team of medics led by Dr John Chisholm, the Men’s Health Forum’s chair of trustees, and also road-tested with men of all ages. You can have confidence that this is a reliable source of quality evidence-based health information.

Advisory Board of health professionals for P For Prostate: Dr John Chisholm (Men’s Health Forum chair) Dr Su Wang (Men’s Health Forum trustee) Sara Richards (Men’s Health Forum trustee) Dr Annette Fenner (Chief Editor, Nature Reviews Urology and Men’s Health Forum trustee) Prof. Alan White (Men’s Health Forum patron) Prof. Roger Kirby (President, Royal Society of Medicine) Jonathan Kay (Prostate Cancer UK) Paul Campbell (Cancer Black Care)

Pre-Orders

Branches, Regions and Reps can pre-order the new Guide Booklet before Men’s Health Week 2024 at £3.95 or £149 for a box of 100. After Men’s Health Week, prices revert to £4,95 and £179.

The manual is currently available at a PRE-ORDER price (£149.99 for 100, £49.99 for 20 or £3.95 for a single copy). By ordering now you’ll help us to assess our print run. Publication is scheduled for Men’s Health Week (10th-16th June 2024) and we will fulfil your orders then. Prices will then revert to our new Man Manual pricing based on £4.95 per copy.

All orders include free delivery.

Men’s Health Forum

7-14 Great Dover Street

London

SE1 4YR

0330 097 0654

Email: shop@menshealthforum.org.uk

Website: https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk

Charity reg. number 1087375 (England & Wales).

Mens Health Forum Website:

Packed with information, advice, training, events etc:- https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk

World Cancer Research Fund – Men’s Health Guide

Attached is a copy of the above downloadable guide booklet which can be reproduced and printed for distribution locally in Branches and Regions. Cancer. It’s a word we often avoid saying, let alone thinking about. And as men are known to less likely do things for the good of their health than women (according to the research). But by taking action now, members can make cancer less likely in the future. Professor Martin Wiseman Medical Doctor and Medical and Scientific Adviser of the World Cancer Research Fun is the author of the booklet/guide and he states that he finds it disheartening that so many people don’t know that their lifestyle has an impact on their risk of getting cancer – instead, cancer is seen as either down to luck or something that ‘won’t happen to me’. But it is worth thinking about. We are not powerless against cancer. If we all lived a healthier lifestyle, which includes not smoking, avoiding excess sun exposure, eating a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight, around 40 per cent of cancer cases could be prevented. If you want to take control of your health says Professor Wiseman then his attached easy to read and understand guide is a great place to start. Written with ordinary people in mind, it looks at the cancers of which men are most at risk of and gives tips on how we can protect yourself. The advice in the booklet has been developed in a way that means men can fit in with their daily lives and how they like to spend their time. Use this guide to start taking steps to improve the odds of a healthier, cancer-free future. (Written by Professor Martin Wiseman Medical Doctor and Medical and Scientific Adviser, World Cancer Research Fun).

Yours Sincerely

Dave JoyceNational Health, Safety and Environment Officer

Men's Health Guide - https://www.cwu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mens-Health-Guide-WCRF.pdf