Are you going to drop dead from a sudden heart attack? Heart disease is the biggest killer of Australian men, and 25 per cent of those who die from it do so unexpectedly. These men, most of whom are middle-aged, have never had any cause to worry about their hearts. Many believe they are fit [...]

Even if you are one of those men who require little sleep a night, when it comes to jet lag you cannot beat your body clock. But you can do several things to persuade it that the time dislocation is not so bad. There are two basic approaches. The first is to minimise sleep loss [...]

A new fear is taking hold of middle-aged men. Twenty years ago men in their middle years worried about cancer. Cancer was just beginning to be openly discussed in the media and anxiety about it was high. Then about 5 years ago Alzheimer’s began to receive unprecedented publicity and they worried they were getting that [...]

Every day dozens of Australian men unwittingly step onto the slippery slope of prostate cancer investigation. They do this through ignorance. They submit themselves to a blood test without understanding where it may lead and without taking steps to minimise their chance of a false result. As a consequence, many find themselves halfway down the [...]

In 1997, a 57-year-old teacher took leave from his school and booked into hospital to have his cancerous prostate removed. Afterwards, through diligent exercising, he overcame incontinence but found he was hopelessly impotent. ‘I’ve got a very attractive wile and I just didn’t want to forgo that,’ he says. ‘We’ve been married 23 years and [...]

The aim of cancer treatment is the complete removal or destruction of all cancerous tissue. In many cases, this can be done before the cancer has caused any damage. Surgery The purpose of cancer surgery is the total removal of all of the cancer. The surgeon cuts away some of the normal tissue as well, [...]

This condition is really a narrowing of the air-passage through the larynx, the voice box in the neck where the vocal cords are located. If the narrowing is severe, the air cannot reach the lungs, and the child begins to choke. The narrowing is caused by spasm and swelling of the larynx. These may be [...]

Some women who can become pregnant are unable to carry a baby, and repeatedly experience miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion. Emotional stress, general ill health, malnutrition, illnesses (including infections), and glandular disorders can cause miscarriages. Some doctors think that many miscarriages can be avoided by a refraining from sexual intercourse during the days on which the [...]

Wherever you go or whatever you plan to do, you should observe the following rules. Some of them seem so obvious you may wonder why I include them, but let me assure you, they are broken regularly. Do not plunge immediately into a full programme of activity, especially if you do sedentary work. Take it [...]

Eye infections Of course, there are minor eye infections, the most common of which is conjunctivitis. In this disease, the eyes become red; the lids swell and are usually stuck together in the morning. There are a number of home remedies for conjunctivitis, of which the following are the best: Wash the eye clean with [...]