A recent Healthgrades survey shows 37% of men skipped, delayed or avoided preventative care in the past year, often due to a lack of awareness about recommendations.
“These are the same patients that quite often are so far into a disease that the management or treatment is vastly different than what otherwise we would've done.”
Benjermen Blackmer, primary care physician at Holland Hospital, explains regular visits can help save men’s lives by sharing updated medical guidelines for screenings, vaccinations, and disease management.
“Colon cancer screening started at 50 and that was the magic number for many years, and those trends have since pushed back. Now we start screening at age 45 and so there's a large group of men that are waiting too long, and given the current American diet, they are at risk. Earlier detection for these could prevent that scenario.”
Blackmer says it’s important for younger men to establish the habit of a yearly appointment and build trust and history with a doctor.
“We are still at risk for mental conditions, like anxiety and depression, very commonly at this age, and then having a rapport with your provider at those younger ages will spill into our older ages when our risks again change for cancers and heart, disease and diabetes.”
PCPs can also offer resources for mental health support, an area often underutilized by men.
