The decision usually arrives quietly. A man looks at how many nights of the week involve drinking, or notices that the first one of the evening has stopped being optional, and decides that Monday is…
It usually starts at a predictable time. The truck is quiet on the drive home, or the lights are off and sleep is not coming, and the mind goes back to the same thing it…
High blood pressure is almost always found by accident. A man goes in about a sore shoulder, or for a driver's medical, or to have a cut looked at, and the cuff reading comes back…
Few diagnoses land as heavily as this one, and almost none of that weight comes from the medical facts. Men who are told they have genital herpes often describe the reaction in terms that have…
Most men who end up having a prostate biopsy did not go looking for one. A blood test came back with a PSA higher than expected, or a physician felt something firm during a rectal…
A great many men who end up dependent on opioids started the same way: a back injury on a rig, a shoulder rebuilt after years of overhead work, a bad break set in an emergency…
A man can go a long stretch without noticing that the enjoyment has drained out of things. The fishing trip still happens. The truck still gets washed on Saturday. The game is still on in…
Most men book a medical appointment because something has gone wrong — an injury, a symptom that will not settle, or steady pressure from a partner. Very few book one because a birthday has passed…
Most men who test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea did not feel unwell beforehand. They came in because a former partner sent them a message, because something looked slightly off for a day or two,…
Testicular cancer occupies an unusual position in men's health. It is uncommon compared with prostate or bowel cancer, yet it is the cancer most frequently diagnosed in younger men — broadly, those between their late…
