Cancer and Men

"Men have higher rates of getting and dying from cancer than women. You can lower your chance of getting certain kinds of cancer.

Most cancers take years to develop. Many things can affect your chance of getting cancer. Things that raise your chance of getting cancer are called risk factors.

You can’t control some risk factors, like getting older. But you can control many others. In fact, there are things you can do every day to avoid getting cancer. Two of the most important things you can do are making healthy choices and getting the screening tests that are right for you.

Healthy Choices

Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to lower your cancer risk. Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. If you don’t smoke, make sure you stay away from other people’s smoke.

The link between smoking and cancer is well-known. But you may be surprised by other things that can lead to cancer.

• Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun or artificial sources like a tanning bed, booth, or sunlamp can cause skin cancer, the most common cancer.
• Drinking alcohol raises your risk of getting five kinds of cancer, including liver cancer and colorectal cancer.
• About 40% of all cancers are associated with overweight and obesity.
  

Screening Tests

Screening means checking your body for cancer before you have symptoms. All screening tests have benefits and harms. Screening is recommended when the benefits outweigh the harms.

Colorectal Cancer Screening

If you’re 45 to 75 years old, get screened regularly.

You should start getting screened for colorectal cancer soon after turning 45, and get screened regularly until you’re 75. Several screening tests are available. Some can be done at home, and others are done in a doctor’s office. Talk to your doctor about which test is right for you..."

Cancer & Men 

National Men’s Health Week

"National Men’s Health Week is observed each year leading up to Father’s Day. This week is a reminder for men to take steps to be healthier, but they don’t have to do it alone! Whether it’s your husband, partner, dad, brother, son, or friend you can help support the health and safety of the men in your life.

Set an Example with Healthy Habits

You can support the men in your life by having healthy habits yourself and by making healthy choices.

• Eat healthy and include a variety of fruits and vegetablesevery day. Fruits and vegetables have many vitamins and minerals that may help protect you from chronic diseases. Limit foods and drinks high in calories, sugar, salt, fat, and alcohol.
• · Regular physical activity has many benefits. It can help control your weight, reduce your risk of heart disease and some cancers, and can improve your mental health and mood. Find fun ways to be active together. Adults need 2½ hours of physical activity each week.
• Set an example by choosing not to smoke and encourage the men in your life to quit smoking. Quitting smoking has immediate and long-term benefits. You lower your risk for different types of cancer, and don’t expose others to secondhand smoke—which causes health problems. Call your state’s tobacco quitline (for English speakers, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW [1-800-784-8669]; for Spanish speakers, call 1-855-DÉJELO-YA [1-855-335-3569])
• Help the men in your life recognize and reduce stress. Physical or emotional tension are often signs of stress. They can be reactions to a situation that causes you to feel threatened or anxious. Learn ways to manage stress including finding support, eating healthy, exercising regularly, and avoiding drugs and alcohol..."
  Men's health

Cancer and Men

"Tips for Lowering Your Cancer Risk

Every year, more than 300,000 men in the United States lose their lives to cancer. You can lower your cancer risk in several ways.

• Don’t smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke.
• Stay up-to-date on screening tests for colorectal and lung cancer.
• Protect your skin from the sun when outdoors, and avoid indoor tanning.
• Make healthy choices like staying active, keeping a healthy weight, and limiting how much alcohol you drink.

Fast Facts About Cancer and Men

• The most common kinds of cancer among men in the U.S. are skin cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer.
• Most prostate cancers grow slowly, and don’t cause any health problems in men who have them. Treatment can cause serious side effects. Talk to your doctor before you decide to get tested or treated for prostate cancer.
• A human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended routinely for boys at 11 or 12 years of age to prevent anal cancer and genital warts. The vaccine also is recommended for all teenage boys and men through age 21, any man who has sex with men through age 26, and men with compromised immune systems (including HIV) through age 26, if they did not receive all doses of the vaccine when they were younger..."

Cancer and men

Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2011

"In 2011, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $684, about 82 percent of median earnings for male full-time wage and salary workers ($832). In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women earned 62 percent of what men earned..."
Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2011