Boys, drop smokes and check
Boys, drop smokes and check
June 25, 2009
Section: News
STEPHANIE BIRD
Wollongong men were urged last week to quit smoking and get their health checked as part of Men’s Health Week.
Dr Elias Nasser from Illawarra Cancer Care Centre, located at Wollongong Hospital, says lung cancer remains one of the deadliest health problems in our community.
“Last year we treated almost eighty local men in our community,” said Dr Nasser.
“Unlike some cancers, lung cancer has a very low survival rate. In many cases lung cancer patients die within 12 months of diagnosis,” he said.
“The frustration is that most lung cancers are a direct result of smoking and are preventable.”
Prostate cancer has become one of the more common cancers found in men but if it is detected early, it can be effectively treated.
“Testing is essential from when men turn 50 years of age – and even 40 years of age if prostate cancer is prevalent in the family,” said Dr Nasser.
“There is no doubt that testing and early detection with appropriate treatment will save lives,” he said.
In 2008 about 150 patients received radiation therapy for prostate cancer at the Illawarra Cancer Care Centre.
Younger men have a smaller chance of a diagnosis than older men do.
However, if they are diagnosed with prostate cancer, younger men are more likely to die prematurely as a result of the disease.
