BENDIGO general practitioner Gavin Salvador says Men’s Health Week and other community awareness campaigns are positive steps for promoting the message of getting more check-ups.
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A Men’s Health Week event in Bendigo last night looked at the best approaches to health concerns facing men in the region.
Comedian Anh Do and other acts including The Hamoniacs looked at the lighter side of health and spoke about their own experiences, at
the event that drew a packed crowd to The Capital theatre.
The event was an opportunity for men to talk about health and share in a healthy dinner with medical experts.
Dr Salvador works at the Bendigo Clinic and said the increasing prominence of Men’s Health Week had resulted in more people wanting to get their prostates checked.
He said men in Bendigo had access to good men’s health facilities and should use them.
“Men should be reassured access is readily available, they should feel welcome to come in and have their checks,” he said.
“With Bendigo’s ageing population, the stats are out there that we’re all meant to be living longer, and preferably we’ll all be healthier.”
He said follow-up checks with doctors were keys to improving and maintaining health.
“I think men should get regular check-ups even when they’re healthy, to make sure they remain healthy,” he said.
“It has been an issue over the years but I’ve seen a marked improvement over the last five years for men to get a check-up when they are well.
“It’s partly to do with Men’s Health Week and workplace check-ups.”
Dr Salvador said developing good and regular habits in regard to your own health was important.
“You’ve got to develop a strategy, how do you instigate that and modify your behaviour? Each person may need their own idiosyncratic approach.”
Men’s Health Week events will continue this week with the Paint the Town Blue campaign that has shone blue lights on Bendigo’s Sacred Heart Cathedral and the RSL Memorial Hall.
The Dragons Afloat Bendigo group, which is open to cancer survivors and anyone wanting to have a go at dragon boat rowing, will sail their dragon boat at Lake Weeroona on Saturday.