Men have been advised to get regular health checks done as part of Men’s Health Awareness Month, otherwise known as Movember, which is a global campaign that promotes physical and mental health among men, and highlights awareness of prostate and testicular cancer, mental illness and suicide prevention.
Movember encourages men to grow moustaches for the month of November in an attempt to raise awareness for the cause. It began in 2003 in Australia with a group of friends and has since become an international movement that millions of men participate in, as an act of support for those affected by prostate cancer and depression.
Prostate cancer occurs in the prostate, a small gland in males that is located between the bladder and penis. It produces the seminal fluid responsible for transporting and nourishing sperm. It also produces a protein called prostate-secreting antigen (PSA), which assists in keeping semen in liquid form and helps with urine control. According to Dr Lance Coetzee, a urologist based in Pretoria, prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men and leads to the most cancer fatalities in men after skin cancer.
While prostate cancer mostly occurs in men over the age of 60, Dr Coetzee says testicular cancer, which is the growth of cells in the testicle that lead to tumour formation, is found more commonly in the youth. “Testicular cancer is most common in young men and seldom occurs in men above the age of 40. Peak incidence age is between 17 and 35, depending on the type of testicular cancer.”
David Kean, a 64-year-old man based in the Western Cape, is a survivor of testicular cancer. He was diagnosed at the age of 20 in 1979, while serving in what was then known as the Rhodesian Army. “I noticed discomfort in my groin area when I was relaxed and sitting with my right ankle resting on my left knee — as men often do. The seam of my shorts or trousers caused mild pain over my testicular region. I visited the army medic who referred me to the local civilian doctor who then advised me to see a urologist in Salisbury (now Harare).”
The urologist booked Kean into the local hospital a few days later, even though it was full. Kean had surgery four days after his initial appointment, but was kept in the dark regarding the reasons for the surgery. “No-one had told me what exactly was wrong. I was told that I had cancer after I woke up from the surgery, only to be told that my right testicle had been removed. I was then told that the lymph nodes in my lower abdomen were also likely to be cancerous and a further operation was booked for the following [week].”
Early detection
Dr Coetzee says the cure rate for testicular cancer is 94%-96% with early detection. Kean found out many years later that his mother was told by doctors that he had three months to live following the diagnosis.
“My mother had always pointed out my intense determination and I think that made survival non-negotiable... I have never seen my experience in a negative light but I am grateful for the treatment that I received — which cost the Rhodesian Army $60,000 [Rhodesian dollars and US dollars were equal then]. I still believe my positive mindset was the reason I overcame the odds and survived.”
Kean is certain that getting regular checks could have changed his experience and his treatment, but his ignorance of the existence of testicular cancer and its symptoms prevented him from doing so.
Russel Carter, also 64, but a survivor of prostate cancer, agrees with Kean that health checks are a matter of life and death.
Carter was diagnosed at 51 after getting a kidney stone removed. “They had done a PSA [prostate-specific antigen] test on the blood work and the doctor opened the file when I was about to leave the hospital after the operation and saw that the PSA reading was high,” he says. What followed was a round of antibiotics, which did not lower the count, a sign that he had prostate cancer.
Carter says he believes that the kidney stone saved his life because he showed no symptoms and would have never known that his PSA count was high. “People don’t want to go for the test because they’re scared of what they’ll hear. The sooner you hear, the [greater your] ... chance of survival,” he warns. The recommended frequency for screening for prostate cancer is every three to five years from the age of 40. Medical professionals may suggest otherwise for those with a personal or family history of cancer.
Physical health awareness is only one element of what Movember stands for, another being mental health awareness. When asked who would be willing to be interviewed on this subject, the request was initially met with silence. Mental health issues among men seems to still be a stigma, one that is associated with weakness and lack of self-control.
I thought that if I were to seek help, it would mean that I’m not ‘man enough’. These things [mental health professional help] are for white people. Why should I go see a psychologist?
— Jabulani Sohuma
Jabulani Sohuma is employed in the government sector in Cape Town. He comes from an environment where mental health issues are taboo and are not spoken about often enough, leading to serious consequences. He says he was forced to seek professional help after he set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s house in a moment of rage.
“I thought that if I were to seek help, it would mean that I’m not ‘man enough’. These things [mental health professional help] are for white people. Why should I go see a psychologist? Those people also have problems,” he says, reflecting on his views before experiencing the benefits of professional help.
Sohuma adds that when he mentioned which psychologist he was thinking of seeing to a peer, he was told that the therapist’s daughter killed herself and for that reason, the psychologist was bad at their job.
Neil Golding, co-founder of DC Coffee Company based in Fourways, Johannesburg, is a well-known local advocate of mental health on various social media platforms, including community Facebook group “I Love Fourways”. Golding, like Sohuma, says he realised he was in need of serious help only after an incident that could have ended in tragedy. Though already on antidepressants after suffering a severe panic attack due to having a sick child and stressful life changes as a result, he says the medication appeared to be having adverse effects on his mental health.
“I tried to take my life on 1 November 2016. I closed my eyes and drove through a [busy] traffic light at the corner of Montecasino. I drove about 120km/h through the light and I was hoping and praying that I’d get hit by something, but, miraculously, I didn’t get hit by one car. When I got to the other side, I had survived this thing, but now I had to go and tell my family what I’d just done and the fact that I needed help.”
For Golding, there were many clues that he was not OK before this attempt, but he felt he had no way to describe the palpable anxiety that affected his days. “No-one in my family had ever struggled with mental health so they said things like, ‘maybe you’re just overthinking it’ or ‘you’re working yourself up’ or ‘everything is fine, there’s nothing to be anxious about’. No-one could understand the pain that I was experiencing. I wasn’t able to function correctly, I couldn’t even get dressed in the morning, I had to ask my wife to help me get changed.”
It took some months for Golding to get to a place of true acceptance of his condition and that mental illness is likely to always be a factor in his life. “It was only in 2018, when I realised that I’d been diagnosed with anxiety and depression; was taking medication and seeing a therapist, and this is my new normal. I was so wanting it to go away, I put so much pressure on myself to fix myself but I realised that this wasn’t actually in my control.”
He says he believes that doing random acts of kindness is a big part of what continually saves his life. “We started the coffee shop with the intention to love and serve people. We’re trying to create a safe space in society; if people need an hour just to breathe, they can come and experience a place of safety. I didn’t realise it then, but it was one of the most beautiful things to help me restore confidence in myself by just doing acts of kindness and being loving to people. It started to boost my morale.”
Golding says it has not been an easy journey and has taken him a while to find the right medication for his depression and anxiety, through trial and error. He encourages other men to speak out on their issues and to be unashamed by their mental health struggles, as this simple act has the potential of changing lives and giving other men the courage to do the same.
DC Coffee Company hosts support groups for those struggling with depression and anxiety every second Wednesday at the shop in Fourways. All are welcome.
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