Public Health Cares
Public Health Cares
June is Men's Health Month (June 2025)
Host Dan Suffoletto, Public Information Manager, talks with Dr. Becky Thomas, Medical Director, for Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County, and John Payne, Men’s Health Supervisor, about Men's Health Month and the steps men can take to keep themselves healthy.
Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County
937-225-5700
Welcome to Public Health Cares, a podcast produced by Public Health, Dayton and Montgomery County, and dedicated to keeping all of Montgomery County, Ohio, a healthy, safe and thriving community.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for joining us for today's episode of Public Health Cares. I'm your host, Dan Cefaletto, Public Information Manager. And today we will hear from Dr. Becky Thomas, Medical Director for Public Health, Dayton and Montgomery County, and John Payne, Men's Health Supervisor. Thanks for being with us today.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for having
SPEAKER_01:me. Dan. All right, we've got an exciting episode here for you today as June is Men's Health Month, so we're going to take a look at it from a couple of different angles here. But first off, let's start out with you, John, and what's the significance of Men's Health Month, and why is it important to spotlight men's health specifically?
SPEAKER_00:Men's Health Month is observed every June, and it's a national awareness campaign aimed at improving the health and well-being of men and boys. The significant lies are shining a light on preventable health problems and encouraging early detection and treatment of diseases amongst males.
SPEAKER_01:And while we're talking to you here, John, can you tell us a little bit about your program, specifically the Men's Health Program at Public Health, and what type of activities do you guys do to help men out?
SPEAKER_00:We actually have an event coming up in July, July 19th, and we'll be sharing more information on that in the near future. And it's about raising awareness of men's health issues. As you may know, men are more likely than women to delay medical care, ignoring symptoms and skipping preventative screenings. So we're trying to bring attention to that, you know, to avoid some of these chronic diseases such as heart disease, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, and mental health.
SPEAKER_01:And since you mentioned the event on the 19th, if anyone's listening now, this is a July 19th, 2025. And that information is on Public Health's website at phdmc.org. If you go to events, you can find all the information there. It's basically going to be at the West Town Shopping Center, correct?
SPEAKER_00:That is correct.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. What's the time that that's going to run?
SPEAKER_00:It's going to run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And we'll be having free screenings out there. So any minute they can hear this, come on out.
SPEAKER_01:All right, that sounds good. And again, follow us on social media and check out our website for more information about that specific event. But we want to talk about men's health in general and some of the issues that men may have. So we want to bring in Dr. Thomas here. And Dr. Thomas, can you tell us about some of the common men's health issues that they may have?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, thanks, Dan. Two of the biggest threats to men's health and the top causes of death in men have no early symptoms. And so they're often overlooked. And the first one is heart disease. Half of men in the United States have high blood pressure, which is the biggest risk factor for heart disease. And it usually has no symptoms, which is why it's called the silent killer. And the second threat to men's health and the second cause of decadent is cancer. Some of the cancers that most often affect men are prostate, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and skin cancers. Mental health issues are another often overlooked health problem. Men are less likely to seek help for mental health issues like depression and anxiety, despite the fact that they experience them at similar rates as women do.
SPEAKER_01:And you mentioned a lot of things there that Early detection can really be the key in helping combat those illnesses. But unfortunately, men tend to avoid regular checkups and tend to not seek medical care enough. What are some of the things we can do to change men's mindset?
SPEAKER_03:Well, you're right, Dan. Men are less likely to attend regular checkups and screenings compared to women. And we've been looking at reasons why this is so for a long time. And one thing that has been found is that men tend to focus on the health of everyone else but themselves. In fact, four out of 10 men prioritize the health of their pet over their own health. Other reasons why men may not go to the doctor is they may feel it's a sign of weakness. They may be afraid of what they might learn if they go in and have a physical exam or have blood work done, or they may think they can't afford to take time off work for medical appointments. But really, it's important to make time for your wellness. And if you don't make time for your wellness, then things catch up with you and you end up being forced to make time for sickness. And so it's really important to find and establish care with a health care provider, with a doctor, Trust what they're telling you and you feel that you can have a good conversation with. So someone that you can see for both routine care and then also when you're sick or injured. Those regular checkups are super important. It's never too late to start routine screenings. But the sooner that you start to manage your health with annual physicals, the better off you're going to be.
SPEAKER_01:So it's about setting up a routine, building that relationship with your health care provider who can help guide you through the steps you need to take to stay healthy. You mentioned screenings. What are some of the ages that men are recommended for some of the more critical screenings?
SPEAKER_03:First, I talk about heart disease. I mentioned that's the number one killer of men. Most men should start getting some screening tests and risk assessments for heart disease around age 18. That may sound very young, but some things start to happen. Our body starts to change when we're young. And you may not have any symptoms, but you may be starting to see some effects from high blood pressure and other things that you don't realize unless you get them checked. So starting around 18, you should be having regular checkups that include an assessment of the risk factors for heart disease, like measuring your blood pressure and making sure that you're at a healthy weight. Then when you're around age 35, you start having blood tests for additional things like high cholesterol and blood sugar to make sure that you're not having those things develop and contribute to your risk for heart disease. For cancer, it's very important to get early screening. And again, when we talk about screening, we're talking about looking for things that are affecting your health and finding them early so that you can have a better outcome. When to start screening for cancer and how frequently you need those tests depends upon a lot of different risk factors, including your family history of cancer, how old you are, sometimes race is a factor. It's important for you to meet with a doctor and discuss all of those things to find out when screening should begin for you.
SPEAKER_01:So screening is important and doing it early so that you have time to make the adjustments that you need to reduce your risk for whatever disease you might be concerned about. And a lot of the ways that we can manage all of that is through lifestyle and things that we do and how that affects our overall health. So can you tell us a little bit about some lifestyle things that people might want to pay attention to?
SPEAKER_03:the most important behaviors that contribute to heart disease are known as the big four. And we talk about the big four. We're talking about diet, exercise, smoking or not smoking, and harmful use of alcohol. So those four things contribute to heart disease. When we pay attention to those four things and make healthy choices, then We can live longer and enjoy life to the fullest as we age. So men want to make sure that they're eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, high fiber foods, limiting processed foods like fast foods, making sure that they're staying very active. Ideally, Men should exercise 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise. That would be like walking or riding a bicycle or 75 minutes of more vigorous aerobic activity. And that could be like jogging that's over spread throughout the week. But for men who are not active at all, moving even a little bit, even 10 minutes a day for somebody who's inactive can reduce their risk of a heart attack. And other things that men can do are to avoid smoking, avoid exposure to other people who are smoking, because we know that that secondhand smoke can be harmful, to limit alcohol consumption, to make sure to manage their stress, because stress can contribute to things like heart disease and high blood pressure and mental health problems, and then to make sure to stay safe. And that means doing things like using a seatbelt when you're in a car, wearing a helmet when you're on a bike or a motorcycle, and making sure even stay safe when you're in the sun with using sunscreen.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you gave us a lot to think about there, and we want to bring John Payne back in here from Public Health's Men's Health Program. And John, you're all about providing information to the men in Montgomery County and connecting them with resources. I know you have a great men's health checklist available. It's on our website at phdmc.org. You also have it available at your events. Tell us a little bit about some of the ways you work to connect with men and connect them to resources.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we show up at a lot of different events in the community as a vendor. So we'll have our information on hand when we do that. And we also do some things here at Public Health where, you know, the guys can come out and get the information from us at any time. We have a fatherhood program here as well. And with our fatherhood program, we try to make sure that the men in our program know about taking care of their health. Some of the things that the doctor just mentioned, you know, eating habits, exercising, and just make sure that they're taking care of themselves so they can take care of their families.
SPEAKER_01:That sounds great. And again, if you want to get in touch with John, you can give us a call here at 225-5700, and we can connect you with his program. All of his information is also available on the website at phdmc.org. So after this is over with, we encourage you to go over there and check that out. Before we wrap it up here, Dr. Thomas, we want to talk a little bit about some major misconceptions in men's health. Right now, there's a lot of Talk on social media and a lot of misinformation on social media and flat out wrong information on social media. And there's a lot of myths out there as well that kind of feed into some of the thought processes that men may have. And we want to try to touch on some of those. You have a couple of the myths that you want to dispel for us right now.
SPEAKER_03:Sure, to talk about a couple of those. One myth is that more men die from prostate cancer than any other cancer. Well, it's true that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Lung cancer is actually the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the United States. So you want to make sure and get screening for all kinds of cancer. And if you are Someone who smokes or has a history of smoking, that you talk to your doctor about ways to quit and screening for lung cancer so that should you have that, you can get early treatment and have a better life. chance of having a healthy outcome. Another myth that is out there is that men don't need to see a doctor for checkups until they're middle age or older. And the truth is that routine checkups are important for men of all ages. Even if you feel healthy and you don't need one. Checkups are an important time to screen for cancers and do blood work to see how your liver and your kidneys and your other organs are functioning. But screening Seeing your primary care doctor is not just about screening. It's about forming that trusted relationship with somebody that can help you all throughout your life. That's somebody who can answer your questions and be a trusted source of information so that when you see some of these myths on social media, you have someone to go to that you trust for information that you can use to so that you can meet your health goals as you age.
SPEAKER_01:We really have some great information here today for everybody in Montgomery County. So even if you're not a man and you're listening to this, please forward this podcast to the men in your life to make sure that they get this valuable information. Before we end this, Dr. Thomas, what's one thing, if there's one thing you could say to people, not just men, but anybody, to start improving their health immediately, what could they do?
SPEAKER_03:The single best thing that I would recommend that men or anyone do for their health is to prioritize regular physical activity. So get active. Regular exercise improves your heart health. It helps you maintain a healthy weight, and it's going to going to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. And it's also good for your mental health. It reduces your stress and improves your mood. So get active and stay active.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, that is great. We have some really valuable information here today. We want to remind you to follow us for all the updated podcasts that we have here at Public Health and follow us on social media at the Public Health DMC, which is our social media handle. This has been Public Health Cares. I've been your host, Dan Cefaletto, Public Information Manager for Public Health Aid in Montgomery County. Our guests today have been Dr. Becky Thomas, Medical Director for Public Health Aid in Montgomery County, and John Payne, Men's Health Supervisor here at Public Health. For more information, we invite you to visit our website at phdmc.org. And until next time, stay healthy, Montgomery County.
SPEAKER_02:you have been listening to public health cares a podcast produced by public health dayton and montgomery county we invite you to subscribe so you do not miss any upcoming episodes