Men's Health Screening Guide Through The Lifespan

• Initiate and be aware of the regular vaccine schedule throughout the lifespan.
  
  • Birth-6 years: Recommended Immunizations for Birth Through 6 Years Old
  • 7-18 years: Recommended Immunizations for Children 7–18 Years Old
  • 19+ years: Adult Immunization Schedule by Age
• Maintain regular oral care and assessments with a dentist.
• Obtain vision and hearing screening in early childhood for baseline and follow-up if problems are present.
• Discuss concerns about your mental health with your doctor and trusted family or friends.

• Establish a primary care physician and avoid “falling off” from routine/preventative care following school-aged years and leaving pediatric care.
• This is a crucial age range for catching signs of early chronic disease and being able to intervene, as well as establishing positive long-term lifestyle habits.
• Obtain regular blood pressure and cholesterol screenings at least every 3-5 years.
  • Consider more frequent checks if you have abnormal results, have a family history of heart or kidney problems, are diabetic, are overweight or obese, or are African American.
• Diabetes (blood sugar) screening should begin by age 35, or earlier if you are considered at increased risk.
• Eye exams should be completed at least every 5-10 years before age 40, but more regularly if diabetic.
• Testicular cancer is most common in this age range. Consider self-screening regularly and checking for any abnormal lumps, and report any persistent pain in the testicular, groin, pelvis, or lower back area to your doctor. The effectiveness of self-screening is debated within the medical community and is not formally recommended. Still, it is good to be aware of the signs and symptoms that should be discussed with your doctor.
• Perform monthly skin checks to look for abnormal skin lesions and remember the ABCDEs of skin cancer (melanoma) and abnormal spots, with recommendations to talk to your doctor about findings of:
  • Asymmetry (not round or regular shaped)
  • Border (not well defined)
  • Color (having variety/different shades)
  • Diameter (larger than 6 mm/size of an eraser)
  • Evolving (the size, shape, or color is changing)
• Remember that skin cancer can affect all ethnicities.
• Maintain oral and vision health with a dental exam 1-2 times a year and eye exams every 2-4 years.
• Consider regular sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening if sexually active and increase your frequency of screening for risk factors, including new or multiple partners, having unprotected sex, if your partner has an STI, or if you have a history of STI.
• Consider the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention if you have risk factors, including having sex with other men; having unprotected sex, including anal intercourse; participating in IV drug use; or having sex with individuals who are IV drug users, bisexual, or HIV positive.
  • Assistance for obtaining PrEP can be found through the Illinois Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Assistance Program.
• Discussion about your mental health with your doctor and family is encouraged, with yearly depression screenings performed.
• Continue performing monthly skin checks.
• Continue following the regular recommended vaccine schedule.

• Blood pressure screening should increase to a yearly frequency at this stage.
• You should begin considering colorectal screening at age 45, and there are many different types available.
  • Types of available screening methods include at-home and in-office tests, as well as non-invasive (stool testing and medical imaging) and invasive (internal scope) testing.
• If you are a current or former smoker, you should consider being screened for lung cancer starting at age 50.
  • According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, lung cancer screening should be performed for individuals between 55 and 80 years of age with a 30-pack-year history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years.
  • Men 65-75 years of age who are current or former smokers are also recommended for an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.
• Prostate cancer screening (the second leading cause of death in men) should be considered starting at approximately age 55.
  • There is a 99% five-year survival rate for prostate cancer if caught in the earliest stage.
  • There are differing recommendations for when to start screening based on your risk factors (family history, race) and based on organization (CDC, American Cancer Society, etc.), so your plan is best discussed with your doctor.
  • Prostate cancer screening can include both prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and an internal digital rectal exam (DRE).
• Continue performing monthly skin checks.
• Continue following the regular recommended vaccine schedule.

• Maintain annual preventative health appointments with monitoring of blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol.
• Discussion of your mental health with your doctor or other medical provider is encouraged.
• Dementia and Alzheimer's disease screening should be considered at an earlier age if indicated.
• Discuss with your doctor if continuing regular prostate and lung cancer screening is recommended.
• Continue performing monthly skin checks.
• Continue following the regular vaccine schedule, with consideration for increased risk from conditions like the flu, COVID-19, RSV, and pneumonia.

According to Illinois law, starting January 1, 2024, all health insurance policies shall provide coverage for prostate screening and medically necessary follow-up testing upon the recommendation of a licensed medical physician and, if you meet set criteria, without imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement.

• Asymptomatic individual men aged 50 and over.
• African American individual men aged 40 and over.
• Individual men aged 40 and over with a family history of or genetic predisposition to prostate cancer.

• Coverage available for digital rectal exams and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests once every 12 months for men over 50 (starting the day after your 50th birthday).
• For a yearly PSA blood test, you pay nothing for the test as long as your physician accepts Medicare. You may still pay a fee to see the doctor.
• For a yearly DRE, you pay 20% of the Medicare-negotiated fee. You may still pay a co-payment or fee to see the doctor.