ry real embarrassment about having their genital areas probed and prodded in a doctor's office. Whether the doctor is male or female may also play a role, as some men are naturally uncomfortable having another man, albeit a doctor, a professToo often, as we age, we tend to become quite leery of visiting our physicians for regular checkups. Unfortunately, though, we cannot always rely on the standard, "I feel fine - why see the doc?" Diseases, conditions, and chronic illnesses can wreak havoc on the health and even the life if they are not detected and treated early on. Any health related magazine or pamphlet will tell you, after a certain age, women need to have annual mammograms, pap smears, and the like, and men need to have annual check-ups, as well. In particular, the prostate must be kept healthy, and yet far too many men are reluctant to face this very real health issue.

Prostate cancer affects millions of men the world over, and so many of these cases would have been prevented had the men heeded the advice of medical professionals. Why do men seem to brush off the need for this exam? Likely, it has to do with the personal nature of the exam itself, many men simply have a very real embarrassment about having their genital areas probed and prodded in a doctor's office. Whether the doctor is male or female may also play a role, as some men are naturally uncomfortable having another man, albeit a doctor, a professi

an wreak havoc on the health and even the life if they are not detected and treated early on. Any health related magazine or pamphlet will tell you, after a certain age, women need to have annual mammograms, pap smears, and the like, and men need to have annual check-ups, as well. In particular, the prostate must be kept healthy, and yet far too many men are reluctant to face this very real health issue.

Prostate cancer affects millions of men the world over, and so many of these cases would have been prevented had the men heeded the advice of medical professionals. Why do men seem to brush off the need for this exam? Likely, it has to do with the personal nature of the exam itself, many men simply have a very real embarrassment about having their genital areas probed and prodded in a doctor's office. Whether the doctor is male or female may also play a role, as some men are naturally uncomfortable having another man, albeit a doctor, a profess

need to have annual check-ups, as well. In particular, the prostate must be kept healthy, and yet far too many men are reluctant to face this very real health issue.

Prostate cancer affects millions of men the world over, and so many of these cases would have been prevented had the men heeded the advice of medical professionals. Why do men seem to brush off the need for this exam? Likely, it has to do with the personal nature of the exam itself, many men simply have a very real embarrassment about having their genital areas probed and prodded in a doctor's office. Whether the doctor is male or female may also play a role, as some men are naturally uncomfortable having another man, albeit a doctor, a profess

of these cases would have been prevented had the men heeded the advice of medical professionals. Why do men seem to brush off the need for this exam? Likely, it has to do with the personal nature of the exam itself, many men simply have a very real embarrassment about having their genital areas probed and prodded in a doctor's office. Whether the doctor is male or female may also play a role, as some men are naturally uncomfortable having another man, albeit a doctor, a professry real embarrassment about having their genital areas probed and prodded in a doctor's office. Whether the doctor is male or female may also play a role, as some men are naturally uncomfortable having another man, albeit a doctor, a professional, examine these most private of areas, while others are genuinely skittish about having a female doctor do the same.

It is quite unfortunate that this could prevent so many males in today's society from addressing such an important health issue, but it is certainly true. How many women have to prod their husbands to the point of exasperation to get them to visit a doctor for an illness, let alone a routine physical? The macho bravado so many display is really a feeling of fear that something may truly be wrong with them, what if the doctor finds something wrong? What if there are more tests to be conducted to rule out the possibility of that dreaded word: cancer? No one, to be honest, wants to find that they are suffering from an illness, but it is truly better to know than to be kept in the dark. This health issue is of such dire importance that men simply cannot ignore it, and yet they do.

All in all, a health issue that can be take