Calling all men…. or I should say… “Calling all ladies” Meaning…ladies, rally the men in your lives since men notoriously are bad about seeking out regular health care.

I’ve often half-heartedly joked that men need to be on their deathbeds before they will voluntarily seek medical care…. why is that?

Do men really believe that seeing a doctor on a regular basis as a preventative measure is a sign of weakness? Surely not in 2025.

I liken this classic male approach to healthcare akin to not seeking counsel regarding your financial health for the bulk of your adult life and then finally getting to retirement and saying, “Uh Oh….”

Gentlemen. Now is the time to seize the day and partner with a strong primary care provider to make sure you are doing all the appropriate recommended screening….and then some. I say this because screening recommendations are not always up to speed with the latest and greatest preventative medicine recommendations.

Today I saw the son of a patient of mine, who is 20 years old. He had gained 40 lbs. during his first couple of years of college and then, as he looked around his fraternity/college campus, he realized his lifestyle simply was not working for him. He started reading more about nutrition and fitness and over the course of just 6 months, he has been able to lose those extra pounds. So why, you ask, did he come to me???

He expressed that while he was able to successfully lose the unwanted weight, he knows he will need lifelong help (off/on), and he wanted to partner with someone who is knowledgeable, not just about common colds/flu/lumps/bumps/rashes/etc., but he was looking for a provider who goes beyond the status quo, thinks outside of bare minimum guidelines and who is dedicated to helping patients live their best lives. This young man, at the mere age of twenty, gets it. He acknowledged that he is an outlier amongst his college age peers. We shared our concerns that more young people don’t get it…But ever more troubling is that more mid-life men also don’t get it.

It’s not that men don’t care…they do, but they are often so consumed with building families and careers that they have little time to tend to think about their own health. Not unlike women, but at least we (mostly) have to see our ob/gyns annually for a checkup and often the said ob/gyn doc provides much needed primary care guidance. (thank you ob/gyns!) Not perfect, but better than what men experience, which in my experience was little more than occasional visits to an urgent care clinic for minor emergencies until either their wives/partners are successful in getting them to come in for a physical…OR the patient experiences some sort of major health concern that catches their attention.

So, guys, please do not delay having a thorough history and physical, as well as appropriate screening tests and labs (as outlined below) based on your age.

(I’ve also added some of my own recommendations based on my, now, over 2 decades worth of experience.)

• 20s-30s:
  • Screen for overweight/obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar AND insulin; sexually transmitted diseases,
  • When appropriate; assess for substance abuse and mental health disorders,
  • Work on developing healthy habits around diet and lifestyle (physical activity, sleep, stress management).
• 40s (it’s getting real):
  • Begin screening for colon, prostate, lung, and skin cancer if appropriate.
  • Continue surveillance for elevated cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar/insulin resistance, substance abuse and mental health disorders.
  • Consider screening for chronic inflammation, low testosterone, pertinent vitamin deficiencies.
  • Depending on personal and family history, obtain baseline coronary artery calcium scan, and additional cardiac screening (seeing onset of cardiovascular disease at younger ages)
• 50 and up:
  • All of the above… plus consider Upper Endoscopy (EGD) for long standing acid reflux/heartburn,
    Vaccinations: Tetanus (Tdap or Td) Shingles (Shingrix), and pneumococcal