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Men, particularly many young men, believe they’re invincible. Driving fast cars, doing wacky stunts, living on junk food, smoking—if there’s an element of risk involved, they’ll do it. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to them. So why on earth would they ever set foot in a doctor’s office? Unfortunately, that attitude is the biggest risk of all. Because men who ignore their health, risk losing everything. Why is getting a man to see a doctor such a problem? “I think it’s because most men between 20 and 50 feel fine, and they think if they feel fine then they must be healthy,” says Jyothi Mamidi Juarez, M.D., an internal medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland. “The other issue is that while women get into the health care loop when they start seeing a gynecologist in their teens or early 20s, men don’t have anything to force them into the medical setting at a young age.” Even Dr. Juarez has to prompt her own husband to get screenings regularly—and he’s a physician! Here are some of men’s most popular excuses for skipping the doctor, and why they just won’t fly anymore. But I Feel
Fine:
“When I see young, healthy male patients, I go over their risks for heart disease and other problems that may affect them in the future,” Dr. Juarez says. “The risk of heart disease for men increases dramatically in their 40s and 50s.” I Think I’m
Pretty Healthy: “They’re afraid we’re just going to yell at them,” Dr. Juarez says. Not true. Working as a team, the physician and patient can come up with a plan to tackle these issues together. Dad Never Went to the Doctor, Why Should I? Right, and Dad had a heart attack at 53. For more information about Baylor Medical Center at Garland, call 1-800-4BAYLOR or visit http://www.BaylorHealth.com
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Fighting
the ‘Superman’ Syndrome: Getting men
to go to the doctor