Prostate cancer can be a killer. if you have the advanced form of the disease you could be dead within a year. No wonder everybody in men's health and cancer is so excited about abiraterone - a drug that appears to have achieved spectacular results.
"Within three months I have had men stop their morphine and say I'm going to see my daughter living in Australia," said lead researcher Dr Johann de Bono. But should we get this excited about a drug that at this stage has only been tested conclusively on 21 men, none of whom have taken it for more than two and half a years. Larger trials are going on but they haven't reported yet and even if everything goes swimmingly, the drug won't be on the market before 2011.
I think the media have jumped the gun here and the reason is the myth of the magic bullet. One of the great attractions of drug breakthrough stories is that they seem to offer a super cure from science fiction. But there is no magic bullet for health - it's always a question of balancing a number of factors and that's far more difficult to write about in a headline-grabbing way. The rest of us need to understand the media's shortcomings or we are we going to be frustrated by false hopes time and again.
Among other recent cancer research, there was another small study - 22 volunteers this time - which the media didn't report suggesting that eating a portion of broccoli a week might interfere with the development of prostate cancer. No false hope there. Broccoli is available now not 2011.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
The challenge of health campaigning
News today that so many of us are scared of the sun highlights the challenge for health campaigners.
The sun is the reason we and the planet are here yet it seems many of us think that any exposure to it can cause cancer. In fact, we need some sun to help the body manufacture vitamin D.
Health campaigners are always looking for a simple message since simple messages are more likely to succeed yet good health is usually more complicated. It's about balance. Alcohol is a good example: a little alcohol is good for you - too much is a killer.
We wrestle with this on malehealth all the time. We want to keep it simple but if the message is not just simple but simplistic it may not help health at all. Sadly, with the possible exception of packing up smoking, good health is rarely as simple as eat X, do Y, don't do Z. And that's why health promotion - or social marketing to use the current vogue term - is more complicated than selling soap powder and must be founded in the reality of the way we all live.
The sun is the reason we and the planet are here yet it seems many of us think that any exposure to it can cause cancer. In fact, we need some sun to help the body manufacture vitamin D.
Health campaigners are always looking for a simple message since simple messages are more likely to succeed yet good health is usually more complicated. It's about balance. Alcohol is a good example: a little alcohol is good for you - too much is a killer.
We wrestle with this on malehealth all the time. We want to keep it simple but if the message is not just simple but simplistic it may not help health at all. Sadly, with the possible exception of packing up smoking, good health is rarely as simple as eat X, do Y, don't do Z. And that's why health promotion - or social marketing to use the current vogue term - is more complicated than selling soap powder and must be founded in the reality of the way we all live.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Work is my Catch 22
Wow, that was a long break between posts. If you've read this month's main feature on malehealth - The main cause of men's ill health in the developed world - you'll probably figure out why.
I think work is at best overrated and at worst a killer. My next project is a book on men's health. It's going to be a shortish book as it will be aimed at men who aren't, if truth be told, particularly interested in their health but know it makes sense to take a bit of notice. That's most of us, really. In a short book you need to think about what you're going to focus on before you start writing and that's what got me thinking about work.
The book will mention our genetic inheritance but as no reader will be able to do much about that I won't be banging on about it. I'll be looking at the the things we can change - the lifestyle aspects of health. But in a short book, which ones should you cover? So I started thinking about the things we spend most time on. Logically, by making these aspects our lives more healthy, perhaps we can effect the biggest changes in our overall health.
So what are the things we spend most of our time doing? Well, work's one, sleeping's another and perhaps eating and drinking is a third. If we can develop a healthy approach to the things we spend most time doing, the rest might follow. The basic principle, at least, seems to work. Certainly, if you can get a healthy attitude to work, a good night's sleep and a half decent diet, you'd be well on the way to doing what needs to be done to minimise your chances of joining the 120,000 men who die prematurely every year. What do you think?
What I need to do now is to collect all this thinking together with the latest data and research and turn it into the sort of book worth reading. Trouble is that is going to involve a lot of hard work. And that's not healthy. It's my Catch 22.
I think work is at best overrated and at worst a killer. My next project is a book on men's health. It's going to be a shortish book as it will be aimed at men who aren't, if truth be told, particularly interested in their health but know it makes sense to take a bit of notice. That's most of us, really. In a short book you need to think about what you're going to focus on before you start writing and that's what got me thinking about work.
The book will mention our genetic inheritance but as no reader will be able to do much about that I won't be banging on about it. I'll be looking at the the things we can change - the lifestyle aspects of health. But in a short book, which ones should you cover? So I started thinking about the things we spend most time on. Logically, by making these aspects our lives more healthy, perhaps we can effect the biggest changes in our overall health.
So what are the things we spend most of our time doing? Well, work's one, sleeping's another and perhaps eating and drinking is a third. If we can develop a healthy approach to the things we spend most time doing, the rest might follow. The basic principle, at least, seems to work. Certainly, if you can get a healthy attitude to work, a good night's sleep and a half decent diet, you'd be well on the way to doing what needs to be done to minimise your chances of joining the 120,000 men who die prematurely every year. What do you think?
What I need to do now is to collect all this thinking together with the latest data and research and turn it into the sort of book worth reading. Trouble is that is going to involve a lot of hard work. And that's not healthy. It's my Catch 22.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
I've got a cousin called Kevin
Fantastic news for men in Australia. No, it's not Shane Warne's victory with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. But their new prime minister Kevin Rudd has announced a men's health policy to coincide with this year's Men's Health week. Blokes will be encouraged to have check-ups at their GPs and money has been made available for prostate cancer, bowel cancer and suicide prevention. Rudd, of course, is leader of the Labor Party (never mind the spelling, look at the policies.)
Now, we do have some of these things already in the UK thanks to our own correctly-spelt Labour government. Indeed, from the gender duty to bowel cancer screening to the minimum wage and trade union rights, this government has done a fair bit to improve the health of men but what we don't always have here is a sense of a coordinated policy. It doesn't cost a lot of money, it's simply a question of political will. The perfect way to get a Labour government that's in danger of losing its direction back on the rails again. Come on Gordon, it's time to copy Kevin.
Now, we do have some of these things already in the UK thanks to our own correctly-spelt Labour government. Indeed, from the gender duty to bowel cancer screening to the minimum wage and trade union rights, this government has done a fair bit to improve the health of men but what we don't always have here is a sense of a coordinated policy. It doesn't cost a lot of money, it's simply a question of political will. The perfect way to get a Labour government that's in danger of losing its direction back on the rails again. Come on Gordon, it's time to copy Kevin.
Let's name the real guilty men
Yesterday at the mock trial staged by the Men's Health Forum to kick-off Men's Health Week, Man was found guilty of crimes against his own health. Forget the attitudes of health professionals, forget social attitudes, forget the way we bring up boys, forget the genetic factors. No, it is all our own fault. Guilty
Who were the fools responsible for this verdict? A 'jury' of health professionals, policymakers, NGOs, politicians and journalists who ignored the expert evidence. You can read about that evidence here but let's talk about real cases - the cases of men on the malehealth website.
Take John Walker and the prostate cancer that nearly killed him: I told my GP, I respected his decision, but if I'd followed his advice I'd probably be dead. Or Paul and his violent childhood: I remember traumatic events from my childhood and very little else. Only a chump would say that these men are to blame for what happened to them.
If we really want to name the guilty men it should be the members of the jury that allowed this terrible miscarriage of justice. This verdict condemns Man to the same rotten deal he's always had from the NHS.
Who were the fools responsible for this verdict? A 'jury' of health professionals, policymakers, NGOs, politicians and journalists who ignored the expert evidence. You can read about that evidence here but let's talk about real cases - the cases of men on the malehealth website.
Take John Walker and the prostate cancer that nearly killed him: I told my GP, I respected his decision, but if I'd followed his advice I'd probably be dead. Or Paul and his violent childhood: I remember traumatic events from my childhood and very little else. Only a chump would say that these men are to blame for what happened to them.
If we really want to name the guilty men it should be the members of the jury that allowed this terrible miscarriage of justice. This verdict condemns Man to the same rotten deal he's always had from the NHS.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Bond or Brent? Sherlock or Spidey? Who would you put in the dock?
My web-posts are like buses - you don't see one for weeks etc etc. Anyway, for Men's Health Week next week, the Men's Health Forum will be putting man on trial. Why? Because of one simple fact: men live shorter, less healthy lives than women.
Who is responsible for this? Men themselves? Or something else?
Which man would you put in the dock charged with neglect of his own health? James Bond, Spiderman, David Brent, Indiana Jones, Inspector Morse, Sherlock Holmes, Phil Mitchell, Rocky, Jim Royle, Homer Simpson. Or someone else.
VOTE NOW (and read more about the debate) here.
Who is responsible for this? Men themselves? Or something else?
Which man would you put in the dock charged with neglect of his own health? James Bond, Spiderman, David Brent, Indiana Jones, Inspector Morse, Sherlock Holmes, Phil Mitchell, Rocky, Jim Royle, Homer Simpson. Or someone else.
VOTE NOW (and read more about the debate) here.
Stone age attitude to nutrition research?
There was a lot of interest last week in the story suggesting that a 'Stone age' diet is good for your heart. The study, by the Karolinska Institute, was criticised on the NHS Choices site for being relatively small with a high drop-out rate. Indeed, says the site, 'complete data' was available for only six people. None of which was in the media, of course, who were mainly interested in printing pix of Raquel Welch.
Now I like this section of the NHS site and I'm all in favour of the public knowing exactly what research is behind the headline. We bang on about this a lot of malehealth too. But in this case, while the research may not have been great the science behind it is worth considering. An exclusively caveman style diet would deprive you of key nutrients like calcium so while we wouldn't advocate that but keeping your diet simple with plenty of fresh food is good for you - and you could come away from the NHS Choices thinking this is no more than a fad diet. The problem with such a diet is that it is cheap, easy and does nothing for the profits of the greedy fast-food and processed foods industry. The government has frequently been accused of pandering to big business. Don't tell me they'd doing this in their nutrition advice too.
Now I like this section of the NHS site and I'm all in favour of the public knowing exactly what research is behind the headline. We bang on about this a lot of malehealth too. But in this case, while the research may not have been great the science behind it is worth considering. An exclusively caveman style diet would deprive you of key nutrients like calcium so while we wouldn't advocate that but keeping your diet simple with plenty of fresh food is good for you - and you could come away from the NHS Choices thinking this is no more than a fad diet. The problem with such a diet is that it is cheap, easy and does nothing for the profits of the greedy fast-food and processed foods industry. The government has frequently been accused of pandering to big business. Don't tell me they'd doing this in their nutrition advice too.
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