Excellent advice. I would add one more test. Testing stools every time for evidence of blood; if it appears present, then contact doctor about possibility of a colonoscopy.

Sorry, I'm too busy to leave a comment...

Dr. Nancy is HOT!

Cappy, I agree. She left one out, check testicles for lumps. Maybe the good Doctor could........naw, just being a pig here.

Also stroke symptoms; quicker they restore blood flow, less chance of damage:

http://stroke.about.com/od/strokesignsandsymptoms/a/strokesymptoms.htm

What about the prostate? Is there any less horrendous test a doctor can give a man to check his prostate than that disgusting rectal digital exam? That it the number one reason I don't want to go see a doctor anymore.

I would add one more health check: Is your wife a nag?

If that is the case, all your health problems are likely interlinked...

Good advice.

The article scared me, so I won't be going to a doctor anytime soon. (kidding)

Highly recommend the Shower Floss device for flossing during shower. www.showerfloss.com, best $30 you'll ever spend. My dentist raves about how healthy my gums are.

inane

I have two priorities in my lie: A. my health B. my goals. if i don't do no A i cant do B. 18 Years ago a surgeon burned my nerves in my face with a laser which made me unembplyable. i went though years of seizures and pain until i developed a medical theory to create a therapy. i am still alive and functional because of it. i was 263 now i am 220 and dropping. It is a systems approach and nuerogenically based. You have to pay attention to what your body is telling you. They are not useless aches and pains, they are message traffic. Pay Attention.

So what happens when you do go to the doctor, several doctors in fact over several years and complain about things that are bothering you and you are told either you don't really have a problem or there is nothing that can be done?

survived a heart attack 9 years ago. Boy does that make you think about you fitness. Since then have had a colonoscopy, blood in stool, (all clear), had the dreaded finger, this lead to a prostate tests (all clear) Still going at 74 years old aiming for 100.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Humbug! We weren't built to last forever.

Our ancestors dint have this kind of problems and if they did they had no Doctor telling them about it. My point is that we live in a very soft scciety and because of that we have all this medical issues..if we drove Mcdonalds and burgerking and all this fast food joints out of town I bet my bootstraps our healths would improve and our hospitals would not be so packed with heart desease cases. so many times I want to stop eating this junk and it feels like Im missing out..I wonder sometimes what they put on the food that is so addicting-just look at this places and see how many people feast on that fast food stuff and is no wonder we are all full of obese people.

No one has the answer in this country where people who give good solid advice on fitness and heath are looked as chumps and hearth surgeons as heroes..we got it backwards folks- we are doomed. We dont need another nation to come and kill us we are doing a very nice job ourselves-gotta go Im craving some french fries from macdonalds I can smell them suckers all the way from my house 5 miles away.

Three things that will help keep you healthier: Cut out all drinks and foods containing high fructose corn syrup; reduce your intake of all sweet stuff; substitute nuts and fruit for snacks.

A testicular self exam for the male is as important as the breast self exam for the female. Testicular cancer is a killer in young males. Has this disease disappeared today.

The catch 22 is we put it off and then so many years pass by that we become anxious about going because its been so long... which leads to yet more delay. My wife finally nagged me into going for a physical at 59 after putting it off for 5 years. I thought the Dr lost his wristwatch when he went for the prostate, the colonoscopy culled out a small polyp, but all is clear and I have a green light for another few years. I'll try not to wait so long next time because the delay just adds to the anxiety. We are nothing more than a chunk of meat on their table- they've seen it all.