Movember: workshops on cancer prevention

”I don’t examine myself and I don’t go to specialists, because thay will say something’s wrong with me…”. Each of us has encountered this statement more than once. This attitude can unfortunately lead to a situation in which we only go to the doctor in a seriously life-threatening condition. And this could have been avoided so easily…

Education in this area is particularly important. The earlier cancer is detected, the greater the chance of a successful treatment. That is why at ALTO we organised a workshop on the topic of men’s preventive healthcare to raise awareness and help our men take care of their health and give themselves a chance to live as long as possible.

The meeting was conducted for us by Dr Piotr Paweł Świniarski, a specialist in urology (FEBU), clinical andrology and sexual medicine (FECSM). He told us about the risks and first warning signs, diagnosis, treatment, as well as the most common causes and risk factors, which we should pay attention to from an early age.

We also learned, among other things:

• how important the role of women is in the process: support and encouragement from them is often crucial already at the stage of preventive screening (so that it happens at all!);
• what are the most typical, yet extreme, attitudes of men: i.e. hypochondriac vs. superman;
• how important early diagnosis is;
• the role of testosterone in the body and, at the same time, the often irreversible effects of even short-term, but medically unjustified supplementation with this hormone or other “gym” anabolics;
• when and how to perform self-examination – all those wishing to do so were able to practise it on phantoms.

We want to show that knowledge and awareness of the subject can save the lives of ourselves and those we love: i.e. our brothers, fathers, sons, grandparents, friends, husbands, partners…

Remember – even superman checks his health!