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The Good Intentions of Men’s Health Week Promotion

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This week has been proclaimed International Men’s Health Week – the week leading up to and including Father’s Day. And it’s part of what’s more broadly been proclaimed by some as Men’s Health Month.

The campaign offers a variety of men’s health “materials” – including the squeezy prostate stress ball pictured at left – if you’re into that kind of thing.

There are also brochures like the one below.  The “Facts About Prostate Cancer” state that men at high risk should begin yearly screening at age 40 – all others at age 50. The “should begin (at 50)” recommendation crosses a line not supported by the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society, among other organizations.

The campaign also commits fear-mongering with these statistics: Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*

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