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.

What kind of tools do men use?

As a sexologist I just can't help putting bits about human sexuality in this blog. Particularly items I think may challenge our beliefs about what is 'normal'.

In the March 2012 issue of Contemporary Sexuality, the monthly newsletter of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), there is a discussion about the prevalence of vibrator use among men. Ellen
 Barnard, owner of A Woman’s Touch, a sex toy store in Wisconsin, tells CS that approximately half of her customers are men and that many of them come to the store and purchase vibrators – either for themselves or a partner. She speculates that men are probably comfortable with vibrators because “they’re tools and guys like tools.”

Go here to read more

Your fertility

How much do you know about the factors that might influence your fertility? Factors like age, weight, smoking, alcohol and more. Fertility, trying to conceive is more than a woman's issue.

Here is a great new website that you can go to for the facts. Facts such as

One in six couples has difficulty with getting pregnant. About 35,000 women per year in Australia and New Zealand go through the emotional rollercoaster of IVF treatment.

We want you to have the facts, so you can make the choices that maximise your chances of conceiving and having a healthy baby – whether that’s now or down the track.

Don't just talk footy - Talk tackle

Don’t just talk footy, talk about your ‘tackle’

Posted on March 13, 2012 by sophia

Andrology Australia, the country’s peak authority on male reproductive health, is urging men to seek help when it comes to ‘the bits below the belt’ and not just hope their symptoms will go away.

“Every year, thousands of men suffer in silence because they are too embarrassed to talk to their doctor about sensitive issues,” Andrology Australia Director Professor Rob McLachlan said.

“Most men are happy talking about the footy, but the lead up to International Men’s Health Week (June 11 – 17) is a great time to remind men that it is OK to talk about their ‘tackle’ – those bits below the belt.”

This year, Andrology Australia has produced brochures and posters to help community organisations and health services promote International Men’s Health Week, and normalise the discussion of male reproductive health.

The resources give ‘tackle tips’ and encourage men to see their ‘tackle coach’ – their GP – for a regular check up to make sure their reproductive health is on track.

Go here to read more

Put it into perspective

This is just a cool thing to look at the puts our lives into perspective: You will see the relative size of ALL things compared to each other.

Click HERE to see it.

Men's Get Together

For me it is a bit hard to believe that we have already had 6 Men's Get Togethers. This means three months of men chatting to men. Men eating great BBQs cooked by Nigel (except for one chillie night - cooked by ME).

We have supported each other through some sad and heavy issues; and we have laughed lots about the silliness of the world. We have discussed racism, sexuality, aged care, explosives, caravans, youngsters, homophobia, politics, youth suicide and our own health and lots more..

These get togethers are special for me. I have found out that I LIKE men. We are unique, funny, annoying, grumpy, but overall this group of men is caring and supportive.

The NEXT MEN"S GET TOGETHER is Friday the 20th April. From 6.00pm til 8.00pm underneath the Gospel Centre on George Main Road. ( We are having the Easter Friday off)

Please pass this information around. We love to welcome new men into the group.

Dads and kids dinners at Goolwa

When I was a boy some of my favourite times were spent with just me and my dad, or with me and my dad visiting other dads and kids. Well in Goolwa, on the third Monday of every month there is a dads and kids dinner. People tend to think that dads won't show up to organised events like this. I reckon the results of the first Dad and Kids dinner proves this wrong. Eight dads rocked up with myriad kids in tow.

If you are a dad, or if you know a dad (that is pretty much everyone) then you can always either attend this or recommend this to someone.

If you want to know more contact David Hammond; Community Development Coordinator

at the Goolwa Childrens Centre, 8555 2509.

David rocks.

Men's Health Position Extended til June 30

Hi all,

I am pleased to ssay that my contract with the Southern Fleurieu Health Service has been extended til June 30th. So.... Lets get a few more things embedded in our community before then eh.

Today I went to a meeting of workers interested in supporting each other on the Fleurieu. Thanks to David Hammond for organising this. We talked about ways to reach those people that we are not currently reaching, we talked about ways to improve what we do. We spoke openly and without fear about the pitfalls of our bureaucracies. We spoke about the fact that we DO provide services here but that many people still don't know about them - why is that?

Anyhow - I have a good feeling about this group. Community building is not only for consumers but for workers as well.

Men's Health Includes Depression

FAMILIES of three Fleurieu Peninsula men who died by suicide in the past month say improved services could have saved their lives.

Desperate families have reported waiting up to six weeks for specialist help, while the family of a Goolwa suicide victim says critical counselling for their son never came despite his battle with severe depression and suicidal thoughts over the past year.

The paragraphs above were copied from Adelaide Now posted on March 20th.

This is a BIG issue for us men of the Fleurieu. Its not acceptable that our mates are dying. It's not acceptable that we have friends/sons/fathers that are not receiving the treatment for their mental illness in the way that THEY need.

Any ideas on what we can do?

Why come to the Men's Get Together and the Men's Engagement Network: One mans story

Here is a story from one of our men.

" Why I became involved with M.E.N.

Having piked when asked this question at the 1st Friday night BBQ, I have decided instead to write my answer as I am a far better writer than speaker.

Unlike all of the attendees who I heard, I was urged to join M.E.N. by my psychologist and strongly supported by my wife. Like a significant number of the men I too suffer from depression. Unlike most of them I knew I was depressed and asked my GP to refer me for counselling. This is not because I am smarter than those other men, simply that I have had more experience with mental illness and psychologists. My wife has also been a sufferer and I have twice attended counselling sessions previously.

The first time I was referred by my employer, the SA Housing trust, to a counsellor who specialises in Reike ( a special treatment that involves voice and body movements). It did very little for me but I kept my job at the time.

The second time was at the request of my wife who felt I lacked an understanding of abuse in our family. I saw a counsellor specialising in this area. My wife was not saying I was abusive, simply that I needed to have a better understanding of the impact of the abuse that children from her previous marriages had suffered. I have no children but she has four (and now grandchildren) so this was a very useful experience; and also made me examine my own childhood.

One of my own triggers for depression was a strong sense of failure in my paid working life. I was sacked from my first job in England and subsequent others including my first job in Australia. I was never promoted in any job and struggled to please my employers. I lasted 9 years in the SA Housing Trust but was ultimately forced to take a redundancy package.

To be continued:

Have you ever visited the Andrology Australia website? If you haven't I strongly recommend it. It is specifically for mens health and has great and easy to read information. Go and and have a look. Below is their new blurb.

New website for 'what every man needs to know'

Andrology Australia has launched its revamped website atwww.andrologyaustralia.org. The aim of the redesign was to keep the functionality of the original website, but to make it easier for health professionals and consumers to access a range of education and health promotion resources on male reproductive health and associated conditions. The new website provides greater interactivity with the addition of videos, and allows users to easily share the content via social media and email. We welcome any feedback on the new site, so please emailinfo@andrologyaustralia.org if you have any comments or suggestions. Also, just a reminder that if you have any links to our website from your own, please check they are correct or contact us to get the new link.

Men are survivors of DV as well

I recently recieved an email

Dear Lud

For the concerned friends and family of men experiencing domestic abuse and violence by their female partners, your phone calls and emails have prompted me to organise a couple of information nights.

Are you concerned about your son, brother or mate being mistreated by his partner?

• What's stopping him doing something about it or getting out of it?
• How can you best help him or support him?
• He's walking on eggshells, she controls his every move, how can he safely do something about it?

Have all your questions answered and gain some tips at the up coming information nights

Now we do know that by far the majority of victims in domestic violence situations are women; and that by far the majority of perpetrators of DV are men. BUT....... that does not mean that we should silence THOSE MEN that are victims themselves victims in DV situations. Men in these situations often feel shame, weak and that they won't be believed.

While the above information sessions are being held in Victoria: Stay tuned as I research this matter more fully. In the meantime if you know a man that is in a relationship violence situation please pass on my contact details.

4th Men's Get Together

What a fantastic night this was. Thirteen men from all walks of life just being together for company, support and of course food from the BBQ. ( Particular thanks to Nigel for wearing the inaugural Men's BBQ apron).

I believe there is a perception in our community that men WON'T open up and WON'T talk about personal issues for them. Well.... often all it takes is the right 'space' and for one person to start the conversation, to give permission, to show how they feel and then MANY OF US open up as well. Last Friday night was one of these great occaisions. The energy in the room was high, lots of talks and some hiliarious moments. ( I guess you get these funny moments when men talk about life, love and erections). Really no matter what words are said; the conversations comes around to "what is it to be a man"? It's something many of us struggle with. How do we define ourselves as MEN.

Well..... I define ALL the people that showed up last Friday night as GOOD MEN: and as far as I am concerened. Thats enough.

3rd Men's Get Together

This night was another good gathering of men. Eight of us from around the Fleurieu got together and had discussions ranging from the health care system, same sex attraction and even solving Australia's water problem. So many men from so many different backgrounds.

I must aplogise to the users of the Gospel centre however. I put all the left over BBQ scraps in a plastic bag to take home to the chooks. Guess what??? I forgot to take them and 5 days later they were rank!!. Smelled out the whole place apparently. Oh well.... I'll never do that again I hope. Apologies all round.

1 to 1 lifestyle support

Men of the Southern Fleurieu. Have you ever thought you would like Personal help to improve your health?

Maybe you want help to quit smoking, eat more healthily, drink less alcohol, be more active and manage stress. Maybe you need support to change your behaviours and reduce your risks.

1. If you are18 years or over

2. have one or more of the Smoking/Nutrition/Alocohol/Physical Inactivity/or Stress risk factors

3. do NOT already have a chronic disease

Then... you may be able to access the free government program that will provide you with one to one personal support to improve your lifestyle.

If you want more information about this either contact me (Lud) on 0422459660 or... better yet.... directly contact the lifestyles advisor at the Southern Fleurieu Health Service on 85520600. Ask for Cindy Whittlesea.

This is a great service and we need more men to be proactive and seek healthy support.