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 

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

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..

Goolwa Dad's and Kid's dinners

There has been some talk of combining one of the Men's Get Togethers ( Most often held in Victor) and  one of the Goolwa Dad's and Kid's dinners ( Most often held in Goolwa) together. More men meeting more men. Sounds like a winner to me.

Stay tuned

Men's Health Forum - The Next Step

The Men's Engagement Network M.E.N.

Invites you to a

Men’s Health Forum

‘The Next Step

A New Focus On Men’

(For all men, people who work with men and people who live with men on the Southern Fleurieu)

·        Welcome

·        Introduction

·        Consumer Stories

·        Dr Mark Miller -Men’s Health  - the whole man

·        From 2011 –2012: Positive Steps

·        Presentation of the M.E.N. Constitution

·        Closing

Come along to this FREE forum: Hear what has happened since the first community consultation for men’s health needs on the Southern Fleurieu.

When:      Wednesday 20th, June

Where:     The Gospel Centre: 2 George                      

                  Main Rd, Victor Harbor

Time:         6pm til 8pm

For more information contact

Bill Harris 8552 3004 or

Greg Moore 0419850066

Men's Health Week

Next week from June 11th -17th is International Men's Health Week. Why is this important? Well according to the Men's Health Week Website..http://www.menshealthweek.org.au/En/Pages/ee4d91/Why-Men-s-Health.aspx

A boy born in Australia in 2010 has a life expectancy of 78.0 years while a baby girl born at the same time could expect to live to 82.3 years old.  Right from the start, boys suffer more illness, more accidents and die earlier than their female counterparts.

Men take their own lives at four times the rate of women (that's five men a day, on average).  Accidents, cancer and heart disease all account for the majority of male deaths:

Standardised Death Rate				Percent Of Total Deaths
	Male	Female	Male:Female	Male	Female
Underlying cause of death	Per 100 000	Per 100 000	Ratio	%	%
Prostate cancer	31	-	..	4.1	..
Suicide	16.1	4.4	3.6	2.3	0.7
Transport accidents	9.6	3.2	3	1.4	0.5
Skin cancer	12	4.7	2.6	1.7	0.9
Diseases of the liver	9.3	4	2.3	1.4	0.7
Parkinson's disease	7.8	3.7	2.1	1	0.8
Lung cancer	47.9	23.5	2	6.8	4.1
Ischaemic heart disease	126.7	72.7	1.7	16.9	15.9
Chronic lower respiratory disease	34.6	21	1.6	4.6	4.1
Stroke	49.5	47	1.1	6.4	10.3

The above figures are taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  Furthermore, there are specific populations of marginalised men for whom the health status is far worse even that this.

These marginalised groups include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, refugees, men in prison or newly released from prison and men of low socioeconomic standing.

Men's Health Week has a direct focus on the health impacts of men's and boys' environments.  It serves to ask two questions:

• What factors in men's and boy's environments contribute to the status of male health as indicated in the table above?
• How can we turn that around and create positive environments in men's and boy's lives?

IDAHO

Homophobia is the cause of much distress in our community. Young men that are gay are 3 to 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young men. This is because our community does NOT SUPPORT THESE YOUNG MEN.
Whatever our views might be about same sex attraction it is my ethical and moral duty to help keep our son's , brothers, and friends from the horrible situation of depression and suicide.
IDAHO ( International Day Against Homophobia) is on May 17'th. I will be supporting this day and hope that others will too.
If you know anyone who would like to talk about their sexuality in a confidential and supportive space please refer them to me on 0422459660.

If I Were Ben

Know any young men who have recently found out that their girlfriend is pregnant?  What about a young guy who had no idea this could happen to him and is still at school.
If anyone would like to borrow a DVD that explores this issue I have one to lend.

Or.. How does a young man deal with his girlfriends decision to have a termination if he wants the child? Hard stuff to work through.

Support for Vets

There are quite a few support things happening for current and past armed services personnel in the Victor area.
I met today with 2 really cool guys that are Vets themselves and members of the South Coast Veterans Association.
The South Coast Veterans Association has the following things happening:

• Lunches: 3rd Friday of every month. Various venues. Veterans and partners welcome.
• Exercise Physiology: Every Tuesday and Friday morning 8.30 - 9.30 am. A doctors referral is needed.
• Coffee aftermoons: Every Thursday afternoon 2.00 - 4.00 at Pa's place, Franklin Pde, Encounter Bay.
• Group short trips:
• Flinders Ranges Trips: Twice a year, for a week at a time to Angorichina Station or Moolooloo Station. To promote mental health, friendship, working together and talking over issues with people who understand.
• Partners of Vietnam veterans lunches: Every 1st Monday or Wednesday of the month

For more information call me (Lud) on 0422459660 or contact Leon on 85522901

Eat Oregano

Hey for all of us guys that LOVE Pizza: It looks like the oregano in pizza sauce is good for our prostate. Have a look at this article:

I grow lots of oregano at home. let me know if you want some.

Rock on