Why Men Don't Like Doctors

Since like forever, overall care of family members (specially children and elder people) have been in the hands of women. Men, on the other hand, not so much. Though social role labels may seem a little cliché or square, truth is they exist because of a reason. These clichés exist in society, whether we agree with them or not. Because of the role women were assigned, men were somewhat alienated from the “care giver” group. Men see their doctor when they are children, and it is mom who takes them. As of adolescence, men are cut off from the health-related interactions until they have to re-establish that relationship when they hit forty or fifty to have their prostate checked or something. There is a 40 something year span during which contact with doctors is practically null (unless you are my friend Rob, who breaks a bone or cracks open some part of his body every week and has a frequent customer card from the local clinic). Girls, on the contrary, do have that constant interaction with doctors and health care (gynos are almost as close as a best friend).

So it turns out we men could blame our non-existent bond with doctors on society. But the thing here is not how close we are to our GP, but how often should we be getting checkups. Reality is we don’t like going to the doctor. Why should we? We have to wait for hours to get in; doctors’ offices are packed with women’s magazines; shows played at the waiting room are usually not football, golf, cars or hot girls in bikinis.

Truth is we go to the doctor’s when there really is no other way around it. If it’s not broken why fix it, right? Wrong, in the case of health issues at least. There is stuff we might not even notice because there are no evident symptoms. Take testicular cancer, for example. This illness usually goes by unnoticed. There can be a little swelling, but it is painless so you wouldn’t  feel it. And that’s about it. Caught at an early stage, testicular cancer can be treated properly; letting a long time go by without visiting the good doctor may end in snipping off the tumor-filled bastard.

And that is what we are lining up for, if we continue to be so reluctant and stubborn about attending a medical appointment. We like our balls in place, without any other dude touching them to see how big or small they are; without a dude telling us he is going to have to cut it off because there is a tumor inside of it. And it is only after we have been through a particularly hard experience, like having a testicle removed, that we understand how important it is to visit your doctor regularly.

Yes, we are awkward discussing health issues with our buddies in the locker room or while having an after-work beer. Discussing health issues is pretty much up there with discussing feelings. We are not good at either of those; we are men. Society tells us to “suck it up” and be brave. A little “pep talk” from my uncle Ralph and you’d understand what I’m saying. He was in the military and is one needle away from tattooing “Real Men Don’t Cry” on his butt. Scary man, that one.

I’m there with you as much as the next guy. I certainly don’t jump up and down when my wife says “Ken, Dr. Reynolds has an opening on Wednesday, is that okay for you?”. But I say yes and go. I don’t want to be a penile implant candidate, simply because I neglected my health enough to prevent something. Hey, there’s generic Viagra for that sort of thing. Unless it no longer has an effect on you (because you waited too long to go to the doctor’s).

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