Men's Cancer

[JTLP]

A topic of discussion with friends and family which arises sometimes is the topic of men in society and cancer. It appears that in Australia and the world there are charities and awareness for every type of cancer that exists for women...massive funding and pushes for cures...yet male cancers that are just as prevalent are swept under the rug or barely gain any recognition they deserve.

Why does it appear that there is this terrible injustice? I'm going down the line of breast and cervical cancers etc versus things such as prostate and testicular cancer...

 

[moXJO]

Re: Men's Cancer...

A topic of discussion with friends and family which arises sometimes is the topic of men in society and cancer. It appears that in Australia and the world there are charities and awareness for every type of cancer that exists for women...massive funding and pushes for cures...yet male cancers that are just as prevalent are swept under the rug or barely gain any recognition they deserve.

Why does it appear that there is this terrible injustice? I'm going down the line of breast and cervical cancers etc versus things such as prostate and testicular cancer...

There was a recent push for prostate cancer, that was everywhere for a while. So it is being taken in by mens groups

 

[JTLP]

Re: Men's Cancer...

There was a recent push for prostate cancer, that was everywhere for a while. So it is being taken in by mens groups

Sorry let me expand a bit...

Waiting in line at the NAB yesterday...there were all these pins and pens for sale for Ovarian cancer which apparently kills a woman every 10 hours. There used to be that ad on TV where the woman was holding a baby and saying how precious she was and then a voiceover came on, explaining how the women would die young. The advertising and push for women's cancers is far greater then any recognition for men's.

I'm all for finding cures and would love the world to be eradicated of this terrible illness...I just feel the injustice is a little too great sometimes.

 

[moXJO]

Re: Men's Cancer...

Sorry let me expand a bit...

Waiting in line at the NAB yesterday...there were all these pins and pens for sale for Ovarian cancer which apparently kills a woman every 10 hours. There used to be that ad on TV where the woman was holding a baby and saying how precious she was and then a voiceover came on, explaining how the women would die young. The advertising and push for women's cancers is far greater then any recognition for men's.

I'm all for finding cures and would love the world to be eradicated of this terrible illness...I just feel the injustice is a little too great sometimes.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Men just suck it up and die half the time though. We also support anything to do with saving boobs, or other female anatomy. Maybe there is a stigma attached with talking about or supporting prostate issues?

 

[Prospector]

Re: Men's Cancer...

I have had a family member diagnosed with Testicular Cancer when he was 23. It was quite obvious to us that there was something wrong. But the bloody MALE GP was dismissive and said to come back in a few months if it was still a problem. Well, he damn near died because two months later he went to a locum and had surgery that day! It had spread significantly. One in 221 Australian men will develop testicular cancer by the age of 75 (based on 2003 figures). 17 men died of testicular cancer in Australia in 2003.

Prostate cancer (and prostate hypertrophy) again have quite well defined symptoms. Mortality rates for both prostate and testicular cancer are falling. One in 9 Australian men will develop prostate cancer by the age of 75. More than 2,800 Australian men die of prostate cancer each year. But many prostate cancers are only diagnosed post mortem - ie they exist but dont kill the patient.

Ovarian cancer is known as a silent killer; the symptoms can be dismissed as back strain, stomach upset, tiredness etc etc. There are no real tests for it and most women are not diagnosed until the condition is well advanced. The incidence and mortality rates of ovarian cancer increased from ages 25–29 to 80–84 years. Around 1,100 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. Around 800 Australian women die of ovarian cancer each year. ie, using these figures, ovarian cancer has a mortality rate of 72%! My Mother in Law died of Ovarian Cancer. She was a Matron at a large Hospital until she was diagnosed, and even she did not recognise what was wrong with her until it was too late. Another very well known Medical Specialist at Adelaide's RAH was diagnosed and died very shortly afterwards - she too did not recognise what she had until it was too late.

That is why we have to develop a test for Ovarian Cancer.

Breast cancer - One in 11 women in Australia will develop breast cancer by the age of 75. About 2,700 women die of breast cancer each year in Australia.

The prime driver behind the women's campaigns were, WOMEN!

 

[awg]

Men have a higher death rate from almost every conceivable cause than women.

(female specific problems excepted)

male babies born outnumber females, and the downhill race starts immediately, we die younger at every age category.

try and get some extra $ spent on saving us and the feminazis (to borrow another posters phrase) would go shrill

 

[drsmith]

Re: Men's Cancer...

Waiting in line at the NAB yesterday...there were all these pins and pens for sale for Ovarian cancer which apparently kills a woman every 10 hours. There used to be that ad on TV where the woman was holding a baby and saying how precious she was and then a voiceover came on, explaining how the women would die young. The advertising and push for women's cancers is far greater then any recognition for men's.

It would be interesting to know how much of the money raised goes into cancer research (or similar) and how much lines the pockets of the makers and sellers of this counter crap along the way.

 

[Timmy]

There is something on TV ATM about men's cancer, Blue September.

This is the website. Don't know anything about it.

 

[Happy]

Another: short blanket issue!

Not enough money for many deadly problems of our society at the same time a lot of money are being showered around on things that do not concern us, but we have moral obligation to save the World.

How come our Government doesn’t have moral obligation to save us first?

 

[Prospector]

Men have a higher death rate from almost every conceivable cause than women.

(female specific problems excepted)

male babies born outnumber females, and the downhill race starts immediately, we die younger at every age category.

try and get some extra $ spent on saving us and the feminazis (to borrow another posters phrase) would go shrill

The trends are changing so this no longer holds true. And in China for instance, female fetus' are aborted in favour of boys, even as late as third trimester pregnancies. And China's population packs a wallop on world statistics.

Do you really think that women would resent money being spent on men's health?

 

[awg]

The trends are changing so this no longer holds true. And in China for instance, female fetus' are aborted in favour of boys, even as late as third trimester pregnancies. And China's population packs a wallop on world statistics.

Do you really think that women would resent money being spent on men's health?

I dont think the trends are changing, I believe the differential women in womens life expectancy is continuing to increase ( In the Western world)

I agree about abortion etc in many Asian countries..abhorrent

Yes, I do think many women would object if money was spent proportionally to death rates/causes.

I dont get too worked up though, I mean to say, where does it end, drinking and smoking kill plenty..do you reduce spending on them

 

[chode84]

I was saying this exact thing to a friend last summer.

I too was wondering why the hell men's cancer's (prostate kills more then female breast cancer) are never publicised to the same degree as female cancers. Like everyone else Im all for awareness for all types of cancer but it does seem like the scales are tipped rather largely against us.

A great example was the cricket last summer. An event where the vast majority of viewers are male and breast cancer was being made aware! What a perfect opportunity to bring prostate cancer into the limelight.

 

[Mr J]

Do you really think that women would resent money being spent on men's health?

Some certainly would.

Men have a higher death rate from almost every conceivable cause than women.

Yes, but I wonder how much of this is natural, and how much is due to our lifestyle, actions and medical care. We're more likely to ignore an illness, so it is logical that those illnesses are more likely to kill us. We also tend to be the primary earner (though this gap has obviously narrowed significantly), so perhaps our bodies wear out slightly quicker. We are also more likely to die an unnatural death, such as going to war, crime etc.

 

[stocksontheblock]

More than one-third (34%) of all persons who died in 2005 had a malignant cancer. There were 38,838 deaths directly attributed to cancer (21,860 males and 16,978 females), and a further 5,361 had a malignant cancer as a secondary cause of death. Of deaths caused directly by cancer, lung cancer accounted for 22% of all cancer deaths among males, followed by prostate cancer (14%) and colorectal cancer (11%). Breast cancer (16%) and lung cancer (16%) were the leading causes of cancer deaths in females, followed by colorectal cancer (11%).

From: http://www.aihw.gov.au/nhpa/cancer/index.cfm

 

[stocksontheblock]

Just a few more stats to show there is an inbalance in how cancer is brought to peoples attention - that is, women are the main group to suffer/die from cancer.

Breast Cancer: http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=1117

Incidence and mortality rates: national
About 11,800 Australian women are diagnosed with the disease each year.
About 2,700 women die of breast cancer each year in Australia.
One in 11 women in Australia will develop breast cancer by the age of 75.

Prostate Cancer: http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=1121

Incidence and mortality rates: national
Prostate cancer is the most common registerable cancer in Australian men.
Around 13,500 Australian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.
More than 2,800 Australian men die of prostate cancer each year.
One in 9 Australian men will develop prostate cancer by the age of 75.

 

[Prospector]

(prostate kills more then female breast cancer) .

No it doesnt. Further, prostate cancer doesnt always kill if untreated, whereas breast cancer, if left untreated, will kill.

The only reason that womens cancers get the headlines is because women are their best advocate. If men want the same degree of promotional activity, then guys, get up off your chairs and make a noise!

Stocksontheblock, those are the same statistics I posted. What is shows is that while prostate cancer is more frequent than breast cancer (1:9 versus 1:11) breast cancer is more lethal, with a similar death rate. You have less chance of recovering from breast cancer than prostate cancer.

 

[dutchie]

Men should get tested for prostate cancer from age 40. This involves a physical examination and a blood test.

Why not go and see your GP each year and ask for a full checkup.

Men are not bulletproof.

You maintain your car regularly so maintain your body too!

 

[Prospector]

And on Channel 10 news right now, a story about men having prostate tests from a younger age.

Let's face it, women are used to going to the GP for annual checkups (pap tests are at the very least unpleasant) from the time they start having sex. Men, on the other hand, dont. Whose fault is that then?

 

[Mr J]

Whose fault is that then?

The lack of awareness is to blame, at least until men are aware and still don't go :.

 

[Julia]

Prospector is right. The publicity for and about women's cancers exists because women have become used to being their own best advocates.

So, fellas, do as Prospector suggests: stop bemoaning how it is, and get out there and get it happening. I'm more than happy for my tax dollars to support research and publicity for you.