Local legendary sports television and radio host Vic Lombardi knows what most men are thinking when someone nudges them to go to the doctor.
“When they hear ‘Men’s Health Month,’ they’re like, ‘Oh quit bothering me!’”
But, as Vic knows personally, that nudge to go the doctor can actually help save a life.
“If nobody had bothered to bother me, I probably wouldn’t be standing here talking about my health.”
Both now and in recent decades, men in all age groups visit their primary care/general physician at lower rates than women. It’s a persistent problem, and Vic acknowledges he didn’t see anything wrong. “I thought I was in the best health possible: I was in great shape, I had no symptoms, no family history, nothing.”
See Vic Lombardi discuss Men's Health Month in the video below.
Last winter, however, Vic decided to go in and see his doctor. “Something was gnawing at me and I decided to go in and get a physical. One thing leads to another and I have a [prostate] cancer diagnosis, and it’s growing pretty aggressively.”
By acting quickly Vic and his doctors at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital were able to get surgery completed, and continue to monitor his health. “That’s the beauty of what’s happening at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus,” he said, speaking to the campus’ collaborative and interconnected nature, “you can walk in there, you can get seen, you can be seen, and you can see others.”
“Even if you don’t think you’re sick,” Vic said, “There might be things developing that you may not see, feel, hear.”
So, as for being a bother about visiting the doctor, Vic has a clear message for the stubborn and reticent men out there: “It’s my goal and my duty to bother you in Men’s Health Month to go get checked out. Bother to go get checked!”