women's issues, always remember men are victims too

Gaedoutr, you seem to have spent all night putting angry comments on any thread vaguely related to feminism.

PAQueen was that some clever play on prostrate? The only thing prostrate about me is in bed at the end of a tiring day.

There is NO evidence that prostate screening (DRE plus PSA) translates into saved lives in protate cancer. Sadly it's a very emotive subject and everyone knows someone who's life was saved by screening/wasn't saved by the absence of screening.

Interestingly, breast cancer screening doesn't produce a reduction in deaths - it produces earlier diagnosis. The stats are complicated as is the sociology that would prevent stopping the national screening programme.

I'll look for stats if wanted.
Sorry for the derail just wanted to correct a few misconceptions.

"Shallishanti Thu 17-Dec-15 23:35:13
am also sure I do not have a prostate"

Translation: "prostate cancer can't affect me! Therefore I don't give a shit about it!"

"men do have breasts and can get breast cancer"

In 2012 there were only 73 male deaths compared with 11,643 female deaths. And it would be interesting to see how many of those men had dabbled in anabolic steroids (steroids can and do cause breast cancer in men).

Long story short if you are a guy who doesn't use steroids then breast cancer shouldn't be much of a worry.

"prostate cancer isn't very dangerous"

UK deaths from prostate cancer in 2012: 10,837

UK deaths from breast cancer in 2012: 11,643 female + 73 male

source: cancerresearchuk.org

yeah, prostate cancer isn't dangerous at all. A feminist said so. Let's cut even more prostate funding shall we?

I think I heard that medical wisdom now is that a prostate check is hardly worth doing, as it's not reliable and prostate cancer isn't very dangerous, being a slow-moving cancer that mostly affects elderly men. Whereas breast cancer is a killer, at a much earlier stage of life.

But I did know a man who got prostate cancer at the age of about 40, and it was a fast-moving case that killed him in less than a year. Apparently that was unusual.

am also sure I do not have a prostate
otoh, men do have breasts and can get breast cancer, am sure this has been flagged up on race for life

this has all reminded me of a conversation years ago when a friend of DP's was moaning to me about Greenham Common
him-oh yes, you're all about peace unless you're a man then you can just fuck off (etc etc)
me- oh- so you object to the siting of cruise missiles in the UK? you want to do something about it? that's great- have you thought about supporting the mixed peace camp at Molesworth?
him- silence (thinks- Molesworth? huh? cruise missiles? eh?)

I suspect it's more likely that many men choose not to do it because it isn't something that's being offered or even suggested to them.

Well, there we are again: Men's bodies are not pathologized as much as women's bodies are, so there is less opportunity to suggest it. The relative I mentioned is of the sickly sort, so sees a GP more often than most men.

For any man who is seriously concerned about his cancer risk, a quick google search would reveal everything he can get for free.

The fact that the men who complained about breast cancer awareness didn't even know what was done about prostate cancer (and didn't listen when it was mentioned) indicates that the interest isn't really there, unless one can complain that women get something.

Men in my family were offered it due to being higher risk and only 1 went for it (my DF because DM made him). Hopefully the rest won't be killed by stubbornness/embarrassment but I can't help but think they're being extraordinarily stupid to take the risk

I suspect it's more likely that many men choose not to do it because it isn't something that's being offered or even suggested to them.

@evilkitten: It may be different in the UK, but I am reasonably sure the prostate exam by hand is offered as free choice from age 45 hereabouts.
And everyone gets the colon cancer prevention stuff.
(A relative of mine has had both, and he's by no means so obsessed with his health that he would pay for it, but willing enough to do something if the GP suggests it and it's for free.)

However, many people choose not to do it because they don't want a stranger's fingers in their rectum or a whole camera up their colon.

Understandable, but men shouldn't complain about not getting as much prevention as women.

There is no 'routine' testing programme for prostate cancer.

@vestalvirgin

"Men freely choose to not get the routine examinations for prostate cancer."

Are there any routine examinations for prostate cancer? I'd understood the only routine screening available for men was for aortic aneurysms at age 65.

@Passive: I am reasonably sure I do not have a prostate. Or is this some verbal stunt, where something in the female body is called the same, despite having a different function?

I am pretty sure that if women have a prostate, it is not usually walnut-sized.

@Mide7:

The reason why women who want to leave stay in abusive relationships is the fear of being killed, or other violence.
That's why women's refuges are so heavily protected.

Sure, many women stay because they cannot emotionally deal with leaving, but that's not the point where women's refuges help. You cannot get someone out of an abusive relationship when they're not willing to get out. (Okay, you theoretically can, but it would be illegal )

Men face the problem of not being emotionally able to leave, but not the problem of being in physical danger after doing so.

Sorry PAQ, are you telling me I have a prostate?! Every day's a school day...

My DP complained about lack of support for men's charities and then admitted he primarily gives to animal charities.

Do you realise biological (cis) women get prostrate cancer, apparently we have one.

I think, as well as getting off our arses to get things set up, women are also far more likely to financially support women's charities than men are to support men's charities.

I specifically sought out women's charities to support because I think it's an area of high need. My DP complained about lack of support for men's charities and then admitted he primarily gives to animal charities.

And yes, I get very frustrated when men complain about breast cancer funding over prostate cancer funding when the main bloody issue is that they don't go to the doctors for available tests. Although - patriarchy, innit?

But the violence committed against men is done by other men as well as women (and when women are violent the statistics show that the men in those relationships had also sometimes been violent) . The overwhelming amount of violence against women is committed by men. Which ever way you look at it, the problem is male violence.

No one is denying that men suffer from IPV. The point is that it's only ever used as a tool to admonish people who care about violence against women and girls. Where are the campaign groups marching in the streets to try and get funding for shelters for men? There are a variety of this sector organisations providing support to those men, where are their massive campaigns for funding?

I actually do care about men who suffer from domestic abuse, I'm married to a man, I have a son. But that doesn't mean it's OK for mens rights idiots to use male victims like this.

So anyone would easily think only women are victims and only men are violent perps

Unfortunately this is overwhelmingly the case. Most DV victims are women. Most DV perps are male.

Often - not always - male 'victims' have also been perpetrators. I work in DV. It's actually extremely common for a male abuser to subject his victim to years of psychological, physical emotional abuse, and she lashes out on one occasion (generally in self defence), he goes to the police and reports her for DV.

It's a very, very common abusers' trick - painting the victim as an abusive one.

100% of government funding on DV is for women and women only and we are continually bombarded with posters and ads that say "stop violence against women" with a picture of a model with black and blue make-up on and sometimes a picture of a male model posing aggressively showing his fist to a woman and/or child.

So anyone would easily think only women are victims and only men are violent perps.

So yes, society does need continual reminding men can be victims too.

"I don't know the stats"

Until male victims are able to report violence against them without so much stigma we will never know the stats.