Health & Fitness

Men’s Health

OVER 40

On writing my first article back in December, I received some fantastic feedback from Dave Knox from Liquor Barons in Nedlands, Perth WA. He said he loved the idea of a health article appearing in an alcohol industry magazine. The article resonated with Dave as he had just lost a close friend to cancer. Dave asked me if I would consider mentioning the importance of men’s health over 40 in one of my future articles and I promised him this would be that article. In an incredibly sad twist of fate, at the time of writing this article, I was on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne to pay my respects at the passing of a very close friend of mine - a friend that I had worked with from 2001 to 2006, during my Diageo days. He passed away on Monday, 7 March. The cause was bowel cancer. By John Field, Field Goals Fitness

Martin ‘Marty’ McCormack worked as the Bundaberg Rum Brand Manager in Melbourne when I started with Diageo back in 2001. My first memory of Marty was at my own house-warming party. From memory, I was only a few weeks into my new job at Diageo, but I had made some close working friendships early on, so it felt natural to invite a few work colleagues. I didn’t really expect anyone to say yes however, to my complete surprise, Marty rocked up by himself to join me for a few beers.

That was the night I realised the lengths Marty went to for his friends; he was loyal to a fault. Over the following five years at Diageo, our working relationship grew to a close friendship and one that I will continue to treasure for the rest of my life.

For those reading this article that have either been touched by the passing of someone close due to cancer or perhaps dealing with it right now, your own stories of heartache or loss will resonate in your own way. It is the disease that does not discriminate by race or age, and while we can’t cure cancer yet, we can do more for ourselves to hopefully detect cancer in its early stages. Put simply, the earlier we detect cancer, the better the chances of survival.

Let’s start with the obvious. Why don’t guys get checked out more often? Because we’re men and generally speaking, our attitude to seeing a GP is, “If I’m not sick, there’s no problem.” But the, “She’ll be right, mate” response simply isn’t ok when you’re over 40. You see the problem with cancer is that it rarely makes you sick straight away. It’s not like having the flu. Any early signs of what might be cancerous could still allow you to function as normal in your daily life. These early signs can also come and go, leaving you to believe that everything really is ok. I’m not trying to be a hypochondriac here, but what I am saying is pay attention to your body; if it’s telling you something, listen to it.

So, what are the signs?

This excerpt is straight from the Cancer Council website.

In it’s early stages, bowel cancer often has no symptoms. However, some people with bowel cancer do experience persistent symptoms. These can include:

• A change in bowel habit, such as diarrhoea, constipation or smaller, more frequent bowel movements; • A change in appearance of bowel movements; • A feeling of fullness or bloating; • Blood in the stool or on the toilet paper; • Unexplained weight loss; • Weakness or fatique; • A lump in the rectum or anus; • Abdominal pain or swelling.

Not everyone with these symptoms has bowel cancer. Other conditions, such as haemorrhoids, diverticulitis (inflammation of pouches in the bowel wall) and some foods or medications, can cause these changes.

Short-term changes in bowel function are very common and usually do not indicate a serious problem. However, if you have any of these symptoms for more than four weeks, see your doctor for a check up.

That’s a quick outline of the signs to look out for and the process you’ll go through to detect cancer. What else can we do for ourselves to limit the risks of getting cancer in the first place? Since Adam was a boy, we’ve been told that moderation is the key to our long-term quality of life. So, if you’re over 40 and you’ve had a fairly large social life over the past 20 years, might I recommend two things?

1. Go see your GP. Just go and do it. 2. Slot in a couple of alcohol free days into your week.

I’ll finish on this note. Of the many feelings I went through in the weeks after Marty’s passing, one of the most impactful memories I had was attending his wake. It was at the New Bay Hotel in Brighton, Victoria. The hotel was full. Full of the lives that Marty had touched and that had come to pay their respects. Cancer doesn’t just affect the person who has it; its reach is far and wide. If an early detection from a visit to your GP means you can avoid a room full of people struggling to come to terms with a life cut short, it’s got to be worth it.

RIP Martin McCormack. My friend.

So now you know what to look out for, what’s the process for getting checked out?

This is where I believe most guys choose to take the tough guy approach and avoid getting a check up as it suggests an invasive or intrusive process. I’d like to put blokes’ minds at ease by listing what a check up looks like.

It is done in three stages, depending on what needs to be checked. In most cases, it will simply end with a general test.

1. GENERAL TEST

This is done via a physical examination by your GP and can include a DRE (digital rectum examination). For those blokes out there that think this may be uncomfortable, I’d ask you to Google Pap smear for females who, by the way, accept this as part of life. You may also have a blood test to determine your red blood cell count.

2. SCREENING FOR BOWEL CANCER

Screening is the process of looking for polyps or cancer in people who don’t have any symptoms. It is particularly important for bowel cancer, which often has no symptoms in its early stages. This process is a blood test called a FOBT (faecal occult blood test). A FOBT does not diagnose cancer, but it can help your doctor decide whether to do further tests, such as a colonoscopy.

3. TEST TO FIND CANCER

See ‘colonoscopy’, ‘virtual colonoscopy’ and ‘barium enema’ - all varying degrees of the process to locate cancer in the bowel or bowel walls.

Whole hop flowers, that is