02 Apr 09 THE CANCER GUIDE FOR MEN: MALE HEALTH

Hearing the word ‘cancer’ used by a doctor for the first time is a moment no patient ever forgets. The very nature of cancer makes it particularly difficult to face, let alone to discuss rationally in the early stages when fear and shock may be your only recognizable emotions.

Most of us take good health and fitness for granted and assume that our bodies will function happily with little or no special attention well into advanced years. With constant medical advances and new, effective treatments for a whole range of conditions, we also tend to expect that any health problems we do encounter will be quickly resolved. As a result, we simply don’t anticipate that ill-health will have any major or long-term impact on our lives. It would be foolish to spend our lives in a constant state of fear about our health, but our expectations are now so high that when serious ill-health does strike, we are rarely prepared to cope with it.

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