A woman’s place is in the exam room

ALBANY — Most men won’t hesitate to take a car to the shop for a tune-up or consult a jeweler when it comes to picking out an engagement ring. But when it comes to their nagging ache or lingering cough, they all too often fail to seek out a doctor.

That was the message to a group of Albany women Thursday as they were encouraged to get the men in their lives to make health care a priority during a luncheon at Phoebe Northwest.

Speakers also urged attendees to steer other men they encounter to take advantage of a free prostate screening this weekend sponsored by Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and the Albany chapter of The Links Inc.

“We realize we need to help our men to (do) better maintenance of their health,” Merlong Taylor, Links’ chair of health and human services, said during an interview prior to the program.

A hundred women from various organizations, including sororities and elected officials, were invited.

“They’ll go out and disseminate the information to their organizations,” Taylor said. “Our message is that it’s crucial for our men to take care of their health.”

If that message doesn’t stick, maybe this will:

All men have a 1 in 10 chance of developing prostate cancer, Rudy Morgan, executive director of the Georgia Prostate Coalition and also a survivor of the disease, told the audience.

“That’s one in five for African-American men, one in three if there is a family history of cancer,” he said.

Women play a crucial role in the health care of the men in their life, Taylor said. Just that morning, she said, her husband had a doctor’s appointment at 10 a.m.

“I called him at 9:45 and asked him, ‘Are you in the car?’” she said.

Statistics show that when women are involved in men’s health care, it makes a huge difference, said Darrell Sabbs, Phoebe’s community benefits coordinator.

“All of the research tells us that the most important aspect in men’s health is the woman,” he said.

Women are the gatekeeper and the ones who encourage, he said. Just having the woman in the examining room for all or part of the time improves outcomes for men.

“Today is about women talking in a conversation about how important it is to support men’s health,” Sabbs said.

A Phoebe-sponsored health fair will be held Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the HPER Gym at Albany State University East, 504 College Drive. Screenings will be scheduled until 11 a.m. for the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, screening.

Men who plan to be screened need to fast after midnight. They will be fed after the screenings, and physicians will be on site counseling attendees on screenings that might be appropriate for them.

Participants also will receive screenings for blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.

Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
AlanMauldin[email protected]
https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f714026fc83d6150ab9a4350b4169940?s=100&d=mm&r=g