Men's Jam Session

Are you (or do you know someone) who is isolated? Someone who might want to join in a jam session. Playing music with others. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED.

The Southern Fleurieu Health Service workers Robyn George and Lud Allen are getting a group together. We have electric guitars. organ, drums and more more more. So... if you wanna make noise (and turn it into music) we would love to hear from you.

Contact Robyn George on 8552 0600 to register your interest.

men's health: more than just prostate

I have been watching some advertisements on television lately that encourage men to  'man up' and go to their GP for a prostate checkup.They talk about men's health but ONLY mention prostate cancer. Don't get me wrong. Prostate cancer is the biggest cancer killer of men in Oz but.......there are other pressing issues for us men.
Number 1: Men tend not to go to their GP at all until they are really ill - well wouldn't it be better to go early and PREVENT illness?
Number 2: We often drink, smoke, party, and eat crap food-  go to your gp and ask about your lifestyle, ask for a check up. No need to worry. Just go and do it.
Number 3: We have relationship issues - So does everyone. Talk about it. Tell someone how it makes you feel. Go see a counsellor. The dont bite.
Number 4: Okay so you had a problem getting an erection. This happens to LOTS OF US. Tell your GP. It could just be that you were tired or just not interested. But it could be a sign that there is an underlying problem. Prevention is better than cure.

GO ON.....WALK THROUGH THE DOOR TO YOUR ON HEALTH

I could mention more but you get the idea.

White Ribbon Day Breakfast

Friday the 23rd saw the first of our White Ribbon Day breakfasts. White Ribbon Day is when all people (men in particular) stand up and say VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS UNACCEPTABLE.

This breakfast was attended by 30 people from all strata of the Southern Fleurieu society. In attendance were young men from Victor Harbor High School, members of local government, workers from local services and local business, as well as interested private citizens.
It is heartening to see this type of turnout; to see so many people willing to stand up and say enough is enough. However.....just look at the figures below to see what is happening to our mothers, daughters,wives, partners and friends.

In Australia 1 woman is murdered every WEEK by her current or former partner.

 Close to half of all women have
experienced violence since the age of 15;
 Just under one third of women  have
experienced physical assault;
 Nearly one in five women  have
experienced sexual assault;
 Nearly one in six women have
experienced violence by a current or
previous partner in their lifetime;
 Since the age of 15, one third of women
 have experienced inappropriate
comments about their body or sex life, one
quarter  have experienced unwanted
sexual touching, and one in five  have
been stalked (ABS 2006).

IF YOU ARE WORRIED THAT YOU MAY COMMIT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T THEN... CONTACT  THE SOUTHERN FLEURIEU MEN'S HEALTH WORKER ON 8552 0600

MOST MEN DO NOT COMMIT VIOLENCE - BUT ALL MEN CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Womans experience using viagra

Really funny and interesting article about a woman who tried viagra. Taken from the New York Times.

I have noticed, in the bragging-rights department, that “he doesn’t need Viagra” has become the female equivalent of the male “and, I swear, she’s a real blonde.” Personally, I do not care a bit. To me, anything that keeps you happy and in the game is a good thing. 

 But then, I am proud to say, I was among the early, and from what I gather, rare female users.

It happened when the drug was introduced around 1998. I was 50, but after chemotherapy for breast cancer — and later, advanced ovarian cancer — I was, hormonally speaking, pretty much running on fumes. Whether this had diminished my sex drive I did not yet know. One may have Zorba-esque impulses when a cancer diagnosis first comes in; but a treatment that leaves you bald, moon-faced and exhausted knocks that out of your system pretty fast.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

WHITE RIBBON DAY

Hey all,

White Ribbon Day is coming up. This is a day when men stand up and say that violence against women is NOT OKAY in our community.

I know that most men are do not commit violence against women. In fact it is only a small percentage of men that do...but....sometimes we just let it go when others commit this violence. No more

Some statistics;
80% of women in Australia have been coerced into sex they did not want

1 in 5 women in Australia will be a victim of violence before the age of 15

One in three Australian women have experienced physical violence at some stage in her life since the age of 15

Intimate partner homicides account for about 1 in 5 homicides nationally

SO>>>>>>>>

Come along to the White Ribbon Breakfast to be held at the Anchorage Hotel on Friday November 23rd to support the elimination of violence against women in Australia.

New Books for YOU!

I have just obtained 2 new books that are really good and informative.

1. The Ultimate Guide To Sex and Disability: For all of us who live with disabilities, chronic pain and illness. This is a great book with information on anatomy, spinal chord injury, stroke, medications and much more. 
2. Healthy Bastards: A blokes guide to being healthy - The title says it all. If you would like to borrow either of these contact me on ludcounselling@gmail.com and have a read.

M.E.N. constitution

Anyone who reads this blog is invited to a special meeting of the Men's Engagement Network (M.E.N.) to formalise and adopt a constitution.

The group M.E.N. grew out of a community forum organised by the Southern Fleurieu Health Service in 2011. The purpose of the forum was to identify what the service needs of Southern Fleurieu men might be.

On the top of the list identified at that meeting was the creation of  a specific men’s health worker for our local community.. This has subsequently occurred. As an immediate offshoot of that position ; a steering committee was formed to help guide the men’s health worker.

It is this steering committee which has become known as M.E.N. The men’s engagement network is now ready for its next step – adopting a constitution.

When: 7.00pm Friday November 2nd

Where: The Gospel Centre (across from Victor High School)

Hope to see you there.

Contact Bill Harris on 8552 3004 for further details 

New Resources

I have recently received some new resources that you may want to access, or know someone who could benefit from accessing these.
The resources are;
1. Fact sheets on

• Men's Cancers
• Prostate Cancer
• Gay Support Services
• Living beyond suicide
• Are you a Domestic Violence Victim
• Intimacy after Stroke
• Depression

2. DVD on mismatched desire

3. We also will soon have the big guide to Men's Health book in. So.. if you think you would like any of these resources please give ma a call on 8552 9214 or email me on ludcounselling@gmail.com

UPCOMING EVENTS - Movember

Movember is the month to get your mo on and raise money to support research into men's health. I have created a TEAM Movember space for men of the Southern Fleurieu. So far the team is only me. CMON click here to go to the team space and register as a member. OR..... go to that same space to make a donation. MENS HEALTH is important. Or if you prefer go to David Hammonds space and support him. Click Here for Davids Space. Clearly he likes the Man as loner image hehe.

UPCOMING EVENTS - White Ribbon Day

There are lots of things to watch out for and be part of in the month of November.

WHITE RIBBON DAY BREAKFAST: White Ribbon Day  (November 25) is when men stand up and condemn all forms of violence against women. In Victor there are already several groups working on events for this important day. One of these will be a breakfast on the morning of FRIDAY November 23rd. This breakfast will be a chance to show your support of this day, a chance to pledge your opposition to violence against women, to buy a WRD bracelet or pin (proceeds go to the WRD campaign) and to hear the unacceptable statistics about violence against women in this otherwise great country. Please put this date in your diary and stay tuned for more details.

Suicide workshops at Victor

Thanks to the Victor Harbor times for this......

ENCOUNTER BAY - A suicide forum will be held at the Encounter Bay Football Club next month in a bid to raise awareness about it along the south coast.

Instigated by former Victor Harbor man Bryan Littlely and presented by Wesley Mission, the LifeForce Suicide Prevention program will help the public recognise if someone may be at risk of suicide and what appropriate actions may be taken to help.

Workshop participants will learn about the issues surrounding suicide and be equipped with the skills to identify and support people at risk. They will also learn how to access professional assistance and support.

The forum will encompass a two-hour Suicide Prevention Awareness Seminar on Monday, October 22, from 7pm to 9pm.

There will also be a one-day workshop on Suicide Prevention Training on Tuesday, October 23, from 9am to 4pm.

Bryan Littlely decided to organise the event in response to members of the local footballing community having taken their own lives. 

CLICK HERE to read more

How much should men weigh?

A series of short videos for men called 'Men's Health Pitch' have been created by the Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Executive Health, Lahey Clinic, Burlington, MA, USA. 

These cover a range of topics that are designed just to start getting men engaged around thinking about their health. The first of these is about weight.

Here it is.

Using gold in prostate cancer treatment

Believe it or not it looks like using gold nanoparticles to help treat prostate cancer may be on the cards.

Currently, large doses of chemotherapy are required when treating certain forms of cancer, resulting in toxic side effects. The chemicals enter the body and work to destroy or shrink the tumor, but also harm vital organs and drastically affect bodily functions. Now, scientists at the University of Missouri have demonstrated that a new form of prostate cancer treatment that uses radioactive gold nanoparticles, and was developed at MU, is safe to use in dogs. 

CLICK HERE to read more

Famous Sexologist Comes to Victor

One of my mentors and a world famous sexologist is coming to Victor Harbor. Patricia Weerakoon is a great speaker, great person and very interesting. Patricia was the coordinator of the masters degree in Sexual Health at University of Sydney when I attended. She was a supportive and though provoking coordinator then and I am sure people will find her interesting and thought provoking now. You may well have seen her on TV, particularly the ABC show Catalyst and the SBS show 'The Science of Teens".

Trichomonas and Prostate Cancer

Researchers have uncovered a link between contracting Trichomonas in men and risk of prostate cancer.
Trich (as we like to shorten it to) is a Sexually transmitted Infection. It is actually hard to detect in men and is more often diagnosed in women. Trich is

• Caused by bacteria.
• Can cause a thin, yellow-green vaginal discharge in women which may feel irritating and have a strong smell. Men may have a similar discharge or no symptoms at all.
• Easily diagnosed by a test. (in women)
• Prompt treatment of the individual and their sexual partner(s) is important to prevent spread of infection

The point is.... if you have had unprotected sex GO FOR A CHECK UP. After all this is not something that you want coming back to haunt you in later life with a higher risk of prostate cancer..

Male Infertility

Even though it affects almost half of Australian couples presenting for assisted reproductive technologies, male-factor infertility is often poorly understood. A clinical tool, the Male Fertility Assessment, developed by Andrology Australia and endorsed by the Fertility Society of Australia, addresses male-factor infertility issues and is available for download from our website. The form aims to assist health professionals to gather vital information on males presenting with fertility problems.


If you are one of the people with male fertility issues you may want to look at the assessment form CLICK HERE

Dry July. One of our own does 'dry July'

Dry July is a non-profit organisation determined to improve the lives of adults living with cancer through an online social community giving up booze for the month of July.

Whether joining as a part of a team or as an individual, DJ's (Dry.July.er [dee-jay] noun: a person or team actively sponsored to participate in Dry July) take on the 31 days of July to raise funds and directly help adults living with cancer and their families to improve their quality of life.

One of our own men is participating in dry July this year. Have a read of his comments below and go to his website to sponser him for this great cause.

Hi all

I'm participating in Dry July (being advertised on 891 ABC) - the charity
that helps adults living with
cancer - and intend to be off alcohol for the whole month. That's 31
days where I'll actually be accountable for my actions. I am 20% through the
month
as you read this?

In appreciation of my radical transformation, any generous support you may
be able to offer will go a long way to ensuring I don't fall off the wagon,
as well as helping the many adults that live with this terrible disease.

My profile page link should you wish to make a donation and leave a message
of support is:http://www.dryjuly.com/profile/markjamesI hope you believe in the concept as much as I do and can help support me
whilst I go Dry this July!!

Thanks in advance for your kind sponsorship,

With Kind Regards

Mark James

New test MAY predict prostate cancer

Many of us have become a little confused over the debate in the medical community currently regarding prostate testing using Prostate Specific Antigens (PSA) in combination with a digital exam.

Because of the uncertainty within the medical community itself lots of research is going into better ways to test for prostate cancer.

The following article idetifys a new test that may work in the future.

Click HERE to read more.

Great FREE workshop come to Victor

Thanks to Leann from Fleurieu Families for passing this on.


Come Along and Join us for an afternoon with Dr Ian Lillico. Hear how we can all be a part of helping Boys Become Great Young Men Who can be involved?


Parents, carers, grandparents, sports coaches and anyone people working with children, youth and
families.


Monday 27th August 2012
Victor Harbor R]7 School Gym
1.30 . 3.30


Booking essential Please call Leann on 85510542
Dr Ian Lillico (father of three sons) is an international consultant in gender, boys education and middle schooling. He is the founder and executive director of the Boys Forward Institute. His website is www.boysforward.com The seminar is supported by Victor Harbor R]7 School, Fleurieu Families and the
BeActive Field Officer

Southern Fleurieu Health Service

You know there are lots of services/supports around for us men when you start looking. I'm not saying that we have ENOUGH supports, just that there are some locally. One of those is the Southern Fleurieu health Service. While most of the supports they offer are not JUST for men, we can still access them. Things like:
Social Workers
Mental health teams
Physio
Men's Health worker (me) hehe
Carer support (Men's Carers Group)
How to be active - get involved
Support with diet and exercise
Disability Support
Nurse or volunteer visits
and I am sure lot's more that I have not mentioned.

If you think you need someone to help you access the maze of services available to you. Give me a call on 8552 9214 or 0422459660. Or you can always drop me an email or make a comment on this blog. I reckon it's time to start using what we have in greater numbers.