Why are men reluctant to seek medical advice when they feel they may have problems developing?

OldMeg yes, it is possible to have PKRs.

Granddad1943 intermittent blood in the pee can be a sign of bladder cancer. It affects men more than women.

Ooops! Sorry Granddad1943 It was Rufus said something about peeing blood not you.

Round here you’ve gotta be ill to get a GP appointment.

I’d rather our NHS was not the national illness service.

I would certainly agree with the posts on this thread emphasising the importance of preventative medical screening. However, for very many these days their working life prevents booking those examinations with any guarantee that they will be able to keep those appointments.

By example to the above, the Assignment Controllers and handlers in our company are continuously travelling all over the country on what can be on very short notice. It is difficult to book any medium or long-term appointments when living in the the above circumstances and that situation exists for people working in many industries at present.

When trying to book appointments for a Saturday or Sunday people often get the response that their GPs practice does not carry out such screenings at weekends. Private medicine would seem to be similar in that also.

The days of the Monday to Friday, nine to five work life practise for very many is long gone, but that is not reflected in the medical profession it would seem. Therefore even where you may find a male who is prepared to present himself for screening the opportunity to do so can be very restricted.

The above can also affect women. We now have in the company our first female Assignment Controller who has worked extremely hard over the last eighteen months to gain the qualifications necessary for that position. However, that has now coincided with the start of her menopause, and she does seem to be having "a very rough time of it".

Steph (her name) has been getting great support from all in the office, but obtaining medical appointments that are compatible with her work-life balance is proving impossible.

In the above, it has to be said that until we have in this country a medical profession that fits around peoples everyday lives, such things as preventative screening or even symptom analysis by GPs and hospitals will fall far short of what is required.

Grandad I used to work at a Doctor's surgery. The surgery I worked at used to have two nights a week when they had late night appointments till 8pm and they also had Saturday morning appointments available. Although all the appointments were booked, on an average week half the patients didn't turn up!
Is your female Assignment Controller not allowed time off work for Doctor's appointments?
What would you do if you broke a tooth? Would you take time off work for an emergency dentist appointment?
It is not all the Doctors fault. They are not a convenience service, people have to take responsibility for their lives and health. Don't get me wrong, I know the NHS is far from perfect but it's not all their fault.

I'm sure most workplaces should allow 2 hours or so for doctors appointments.
Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.

Doodle, of course she would be allowed time off for doctors or dentist appointments if she is in the office working. However, as described her job means her travelling all over the country often on short notice of the trip and not knowing what time or often what day of the week she will be back.

Therefore again as I laid out above booking appointments for medical screening or anything else can be difficult especially when those services are not available at weekends.

Please please please - if any of your male relatives have any possible prostate problems get them to go to gp.
Caught early prostate cancer is very treatable.
Sadly as I know only too closely once it spreads it becomes incurable

My DH is the opposite in that he is a ‘doctor botherer’ He has so many pills he rattles and he is in the surgery every minute with a new complaint. However, this served him well,as his doctor picked up in an abnormal test reading and sent him an essential prostate cancer test, a condition which is being monitored. He does not discuss his health with other men. I think he just wants to live forever.

My DH has been ill since Thursday. Struggling to wee, blood in urine etc. He looks poorly and I am at my wits end. I have a heavy cold that I can’t seem to shake off and we’ve both had little sleep for days . He up and went to work before 6am (to avoid me) and I don’t know what to do. He has been very ill in the past and had a stroke earlier this year . It’s as though he can’t face any more bad news. Mind you he has a point .

It was Rufus said something about peeing blood
Kathyd; Yes! That was me! Although some cruel people said at the time that it was "Shiraz of the Overflow"! We laughed; hollow, though.
Anyway what's a PKR if not an arthroscopy? Never heard of it.

I don’t know what to do
Gillybob; Sorry to hear that, but don't mess about; off to the doc. ASAP
Good Luck!.

gilly you need to insist, despite your own cold, that your DH gets a GP appointment ASAP.

I posted earlier about my son. His wife said ‘he won’t listen to me’ well he bloody well listened to me. I made sure he did.. His arm was indeed infected and had he not gone to A&E where they gave him antibiotics (which is something they don’t do with good cause these days) ut could have been so much worse.

Put your foot down and insist.

Believe you me I’ve tried OldMeg I can’t just drag him there . He knows deep down that he should go but he’s frightened of what they will say . Other ( very rare) visits to GP have ended up very serious . I knew he would disappear first thing this morning to avoid me I thought I’d catch him at work but he’s gone already . I’m at my wits end and not sure what else I can do . No one else to turn to really .

Surgeries open seven days a week? More receptionists, more nurses, more doctors.

I think you've hit the nail on the head, Elegran - men don't like to show weakness. There's the fear that something awful will be found BUT if you don't do anything about it it won't disappear all by itself will it?
It's all part of being male and the need to appear strong. We have to help them to overcome this but it's difficult.
When my dear late husband began to show symptoms of MND he waited six months before seeing the GP. Going sooner wouldn't have made any difference, his illness was still as terminal, incurable, etc. All it would have saved was puzzlement as to what was happening. We would still have worried.

working life prevents booking those examinations
Grandad; "They" are very silly if not downright stupid. Nobody's job is that important, nor is anybody indispensable, but it's just as important for any company to facilitate the maintenance of an employee's health where ever they might be, as you know, especially when there is every chance that only half a working life is the outcome. .
Btw; What's an Assignment Controller?

Rufus Sheneeds to ask herself (and so do those men whose heads are firmly in the sand) which is better/worse?

Dry rot specialists tackling a small outbreak of rot, removing it and treating the surrounding woodwork so that any spores are destroyed, and joiners and decorators in making good the damage so that the house is as good as new and will stand for a lifetime.

or

The cellar door firmly closed on the dry rot in the basement, which will reach the attic in a year or so and mean that the house will have to be completely rebuilt.

And neglected people are not so easily completely rebuilt as a neglected house.

Should have been to Grandad not Rufus but the message is to all ostriches.

but the message is to all ostriches
Elegran; Come, Come! Are you calling Grandad and myself ostriches?

I did explain that the post was to Grandad, not you, Rufus but if the cap fits, wear it.

My father surprised me in old age. He was robustly proud of his good health. He didn't need to visit the doctor for over 30 years and I never remember him being ill, except occasional blinding headaches, which I am convinced were migraine, although he was outraged when I suggested that to him. I have had migraine since early childhood.

However, as an extremely old man (85+), after he was widowed, he always took up his annual invitation to attend a Well Man clinic at his surgery and they picked up his bladder cancer in its very early stages so that it never fully developed. He lived to be 92, still hale and hearty until his last final illness, in which his bladder cancer played no part.

I suspect he was so good about his annual check-ups because, for much of his adult life he was in the army and army life included regular medical check-ups, so I think it was just second nature in him to respond to an 'invitation' to an annual check up as obey an order, when he was in the army to report to the MO for his regular army health check.

Elegran; This thread has been running just a few days and it looks as if it's going the way you hoped, unless I'm mistaken. I'm not sure how explicit the accounts of various problems should be, but so far they appear to be not overly '"medical" yet detailed enough to persuade anyone in doubt to see a doctor asap; don't wait until it's too late.
I don't know, of course, how many Grandads would be taking notes from my prostate presentation; it could be made more graphic if requested and the same goes for my "pseudo-cyst on the pancreas", sounds like the name of a posh hotel, but in my opinion, real-life accounts from people who have "been there, done that" are much better at persuading anyone to forget their inhibitions than general sermons preaching platitudes.
As we all know, men are very good at interpreting sermons
as nagging and selective hearing kicks in.
Anyway, it's way past my bedtime, so this little ostrich is donning his nightcap, which happens to fit by the way and will shortly be burying his head beneath the doona.
Night, night everyone.

I have to disagree, every six months I have my “MOT”, blood pressure, blood test, weight, height etc with the doctor, well nurse actually but she would not hesitate to refer me if needed and, on the are occasions anything feels ‘odd’ I go fir a checkup, however I am fit, swim, walk, cycle everywhere and look after my weight, unlike my wife who is HUGELY resistant to do anything about her health arguing always that the doctor (she insists on seeing the female senior practitioner who is part time, elderly and hardly ever available) will just put it down to “her weight”. Even getting her to go for a flu jab was a bit of a struggle. I think mybservice career, where nudity, needles and regular fitness checks were the norm lead me to just always take care of myself.

Good man!