Men are being urged to take more individual responsibility for their health by local MP Darren Chester after he met with a local health advocate.
Mr Chester said he enjoyed catching up with leading men’s health advocate Moss Mahony and learn more about his exceptional work in the community to promote prostate cancer awareness.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call for me. Moss told me that men living in regional or rural areas like Gippsland have a 24 per cent higher risk of dying of prostate cancer compared to blokes in the city, and the big issue is a failure to get tested,” Mr Chester said.
“We need more men taking up the opportunity to have a PSA test and Moss is advocating for a change in regulations at a national level to make annual tests free of charge – the current system only supports a free test every second year.
“Establishing a register that reminds men that its time for an annual PSA test would save the health budget in the longer term because any issues would be detected earlier and require less expensive medical intervention.
“In the meantime, Moss and the Prostate Cancer Support Group are providing practical and valuable advice to locals, but it begins with men booking in for a check-up and getting tests done in a timely manner.”
