Your 20s & 30s
Striving for top health performance
You may feel on top of your game—even unbeatable—In your 20s and 30s. You may be tempted to think, “Why even bother with a physical?” Yet this is training season for building up lifelong healthy habits.
Establish your care coach: In your late teens to early 20s, transition from your pediatrician and establish yourself with a primary care physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant by scheduling a physical.
“When young men show up for preventive care, we talk about the future,” said Dr. Dean Seehusen, chair of Family & Community Medicine at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta. “Then we talk about what that’s going to take habit-wise. What you can do in your 60s and 70s is based on what you’re doing in your 20s, 30s and 40s.”
Stay on top of your stats: The information from your annual exam can help you stay on track to live out your vision, measured in part by important health stats—like glucose and cholesterol levels, body mass index and blood pressure. Staying on top of your trending numbers can help prevent heart disease, stroke and diabetes down the road.
It’s also a good time to talk about your vaccine status, such as tetanus (needed every 10 years) and HPV. To protect yourself and your partner, it’s important to test for human papillomavirus. Also known as HPV, it’s the most common sexually transmitted infection and can cause several types of cancer for men and women, even though you likely won’t have symptoms. You may have already received this vaccine in your teens, but if you haven’t yet, it’s recommended through the age of 26.
Men may also consider self-screening for testicular cancer through self-exams during these earlier healthcare years, according to John Aaron III, a physician assistant who cares for patients at Wellstar Family Medicine in Alpharetta.
Look for weaknesses: Make your health team aware of your family medical history, from heart disease and stroke to cancer. This will help them create a personalized health plan for you. You may need screenings or tests for certain health conditions at an earlier age than the average population.
Find a Men’s Health care team near you, including the Wellstar KSU Health Center for Kennesaw State University for students.
Your Men’s Health Playbook
Decade-by-decade strategies to keep you in the game
Published on June 26, 2024
Last updated 12:23 PM June 26, 2024
What you can do in your 60s and 70s is based on what you’re doing in your 20s, 30s and 40s.
- Dr. Dean Seehusen
Chair of Family & Community Medicine at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta
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Your 40s: Adding new health plays
Starting in your 40s, it’s time to add some new healthcare plays—like getting screened for colorectal cancer and discussing whether prostate cancer screening is right for you.
Put colorectal cancer on the defense: In people under 50, colorectal cancer is now the number one cancer-related killer of men according to the American Cancer Society, and Black men are 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer. For men at average risk, talk to your primary care provider about colorectal cancer screening at 45—or earlier if you have a family history or colon cancer-related genetic syndromes.
“If you love yourself, then you need to get yourself checked out,” said CJ Stewart, former Chicago Cubs outfielder and Wellstar patient. “You can definitely take it from me—someone who was fearful of the process—that if I can do it, you can do it.”
Make smart prostate plays: Depending on personal factors, this may also be the time to start conversations with your doctor about your family history with prostate cancer, and whether screening with a simple prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is right for you. Men at higher risk for prostate cancer may need to start their screening in their 40s. If you’re not at high risk, you can discuss whether screening is right for you in your 50s. According to the American Cancer Society, Black men have nearly twice the risk of dying from prostate cancer than white men. This is an important reason for Black men to proactively discuss screening for prostate cancer with their physician.
Regular screenings can help identify if you might have prostate cancer, and if it may cause harm if left untreated. Schedule an appointment with your primary care provider or urologist. Or if you’re at higher risk, contact the Wellstar Prostate Health Program for a personalized approach.
Discuss making smart health moves with a primary care provider near you.
Your 50s, 60s & 70s: Staying in the game
In your 50s and beyond, it’s important to maintain your relationship with your primary care health team, who can help you update your playbook so you can keep doing what you love in the long term.
Get defensive: It’s time to review your vaccine status, such as your tetanus, pneumonia and shingles shots.
Strengthen your heart: Ask if you need a heart screening (coronary artery calcium scoring) and discuss ways to lower your risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. for men, women and most racial and ethnic groups. There are easy, delicious meal options that follow American Heart Association nutrition guidelines for lowering your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Get ahead of cancer: If you didn’t talk to your doctor about prostate cancer screening in your 40s, now’s the time to consider if this is the right approach for you. And, men with a history of smoking should ask about lung cancer screenings. According to the American Cancer Society, Black men are about 15% more likely to develop lung cancer than white men. Low-dose CT scans help detect early-stage lung cancer before clinical signs or symptoms become evident. When identified early, lung cancer can be more easily treated and more frequently cured than later-stage cancers.
Staying mentally strong: Consider how you can stay mentally strong. Symptoms of dementia or late-onset Alzheimer’s—namely memory loss and poor judgment-making—may appear in your 60s. Nearly 1 in 9 people 65 and older have Alzheimer's disease in the U.S. If you or a man in your life show signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, your doctor may refer you to a neurologist for further assessment, to help manage the symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease.
Schedule an appointment with a Wellstar physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant to help you stay in the game.
What about other conditions men live with?
Read more about how teaming up with your doctor can help you manage erectile dysfunction and sex drive alongside other health conditions that are more common for men.
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Newsroom
Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center’s Pharmacogenomics Program may Help Reduce Side Effects From Chemotherapy for Some Patients
The Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center Pharmacogenomics Program (CaPP) has launched pharmacogenomics testing services for the center’s patients and oncologists. Pharmacogenomics employs genetic sequence alterations in drug metabolism genes to predict toxicity.
The tests measure changes in genes that make proteins that metabolize common chemotherapy drugs. If a patient has a mutation in these genes, their metabolism will not handle the drug properly. This may cause the patient to become sick.
“These tests can help people avoid severe toxicity from chemotherapy. We want to optimize treatment for patients who need a lower dose when they have any gene mutation,” said Dr. John W. Henson, director of neuro-oncology at the Medical College of Georgia and the Wellstar Georgia Cancer Center. The Pharmacogenomics Program is co-led by Henson in the Hereditary Cancer Clinic and Dr. Katherine Saunders-Wohlfrom in Oncology Pharmacy.
The program’s initial focus will be on patients with gastrointestinal cancers in conjunction with Dr. Asha Nayak. Henson said this is where the biggest impact will come right away. Other service lines, including breast cancer, will benefit as more testing is done.
“This is a valuable message to the community,” said Henson. “CaPP services will include testing support, report interpretation, document management, clinician consultation, and patient and family consultation.”
Henson also thanked Dr. Brandy D. Gunsolus in Clinical Laboratory Science for her help with the program, saying she was instrumental in developing the order process.
Highlights
Wellstar Experts Collaborate to Help People Fight Lung Cancer
From catching cancer to following through with expert care, Wellstar ensures patients never have to fight lung cancer alone.
Wellstar is dedicated to early intervention in lung cancer, which improves outcomes for patients. After detection of an abnormality on a CT scan, patients are immediately surrounded with an interdisciplinary support team devoted to their well-being.
Identifying lung cancer early
If you are at increased risk for developing lung cancer, talk to your care team about screenings. With a low-dose CT scan of the chest, it only takes a few seconds to check in on your lung health. These screenings are offered at several Wellstar imaging centers.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force has revised lung screening guidelines. Patients may qualify for screening if they are 50 to 80 years old and smoked for 20 years. If they are a former smoker, they may qualify if they quit less than 15 years ago.
“Lung screening improves a person’s chances of detecting a lung cancer at an early stage and being cured of that cancer,” said Wellstar Thoracic Surgeon Dr. William Mayfield.
Because finding cancer and starting treatment sooner can be life-saving, Wellstar has invested in the incidental nodule program. When people come into a hospital seeking care for something else—whether that be a health condition like appendicitis or a traumatic event like a motorcycle accident—they might get a scan of the abdomen or chest that also shows portions of the lungs.
Using artificial intelligence, reports of those scans are fed to report coordinators, categorized based on their risk level, and if the patient is higher-risk, forwarded to nurse navigators for review. Nurse navigators consult with physicians about the findings, and Wellstar can then initiate care if cancer is found.
“People that come to the hospital for other problems may also be walking around with a lung cancer they didn’t know about,” Dr. Mayfield said.
The program, which started in fall 2020, has identified a total of 148 lung cancers and 14 other types of cancer, as of October 2024.
“Now those people are getting care, and it’s quite likely those cancers would have been missed,” Dr. Mayfield said.
Wellstar is developing another incidental nodule program for the abdominal area, which could lead to the discovery of several cancers including ovarian, kidney, bladder and liver cancers.
The program aligns with the Wellstar mission of enhancing the health and well-being of every person we serve.
“It was the right thing to do for the community. If we miss these cancers, it is a broken promise to the patient,” Dr. Mayfield said.
Then, if cancer is found, Wellstar “closes the loop” by initiating treatment and connecting the patient with resources, Dr. Mayfield said.
Expert care and support at every step
From the very beginning, lung cancer patients at Wellstar are surrounded by a team of experts. Rather than go through the time-consuming process of driving to multiple appointments with different specialists, patients meet with all these physicians in one place.
The Wellstar Lung Cancer STAT Clinic, at Wellstar Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone Regional, North Fulton and Paulding medical centers, as well as the Thoracic NOW Clinic at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center, give patients immediate access to specialists in medical oncology, radiation oncology, pulmonary medicine and thoracic surgery.
“No other health system does multidisciplinary care the way Wellstar does,” Dr. Mayfield said.
Getting multiple expert opinions from the start not only gives patients peace of mind, it speeds up treatment, too. In the United States, the average time between an abnormal scan and the beginning of treatment is 95 days, Dr. Mayfield said. The STAT Clinic reduces that time to as little as 14 days. Time-to-treatment affects long-term survival in lung cancer patients, Dr. Mayfield said—a six-week delay can reduce five-year survival by up to 13%, according to research from the Cleveland Clinic.
“Time really does matter in the treatment and diagnosis of lung cancer,” Dr. Mayfield said.
High-tech surgery options
For many patients, surgery is a crucial part of lung cancer treatment. Wellstar offers several minimally invasive options, reducing recovery time for patients.
Dr. Mayfield said more than 90% of lung cancer surgeries at Wellstar are performed using either the da Vinci Surgical System or Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery techniques (VATS).
Minimally invasive surgeries reduce pain, scarring, blood loss and infection, as well as time to recover—getting patients back to work and other routines quicker.
The da Vinci system is equipped with 3D cameras and instruments that can make very intricate, precise movements, allowing for shorter incisions and more accurate surgery. Some patients can leave the hospital as early as the next day.
For biopsies, Wellstar has completed 500 procedures using the Ion system, a robotic-assisted platform.
To prevent lung cancer and keep your lungs healthy, talk to your primary care team and follow a few tips, such as avoiding smoking and getting your exercise. Learn more about treatments on our cancer care page.
Highlights
Make Lung Health Your Habit
Whether you’re running a marathon or simply running errands, having healthy lungs helps you to live comfortably and do the activities you enjoy.
Lung health is an important part of overall wellness. It’s best to prevent health issues before they start, and Wellstar experts will partner with you to personalize a plan to keep your lungs healthy.
Book an appointment online to check in with a provider about your lung health and follow these tips to breathe a little easier.
Don’t smoke or vape
If you are a smoker, keep in mind that there are both short-term and long-term benefits to quitting. One to nine months after the last cigarette, your shortness of breath should decrease. Within 10 years of quitting, a former smoker's risk of developing lung cancer is 30% to 50% below that of a person who continues to smoke.
Also, if you don’t smoke, do not pick up the habit. Nicotine is highly addictive, even more so than many other drugs including narcotic opiates, according to Wellstar Pulmonologist Dr. Hitendra Patel.
Dr. Patel said that vaping is gaining popularity, especially among younger people. However, vaping irritates a person’s airways and increases their risk of asthma.
“Nothing but air should go in and out of the lungs,” Dr. Patel said. “Any other chemical or substance, or inhalation of smoke of any kind, is going to be detrimental and harmful.”
Wellstar Primary Care Physician Dr. Jignesh Dholaria said misinformation about vaping is common.
“People have the notion that vaping is somehow safer and that it doesn’t have the same chemicals that cigarettes do,” Dr. Dholaria said. “We’re seeing a lot more harmful effects from vaping just because we don’t always know all the chemicals that are in these vapes. That has caused a lot more lung-related injuries.”
Get your exercise and sleep
While staying active is a critical component of overall wellness, it’s especially important to keep your lungs in top shape.
“As you’re breathing in and out, getting rid of carbon dioxide and inhaling more oxygen, that helps your tissues, which helps you feel better overall,” Dr. Dholaria said.
Even if it is raining—or if pollutants are especially high that day and you’re worried about lung irritation—there are ways to get your steps in. Dr. Patel recommends going to an air-conditioned shopping mall or store to get some exercise if being outside is not an option.
“Continuing to exercise to the fullest of your body’s ability is an important step of maintaining whatever lung health you have,” Dr. Patel said. “If you start with healthy lungs, staying on an exercise program and regimen is vital.”
Balance that exercise with some rest, too. Dr. Patel, who is also the medical director of the Wellstar sleep program, said being well-rested can ward off sickness, including some respiratory illnesses.
“If you don’t sleep well, that means your immune system is not going to function as well as it should,” he said.
Try breathing exercises
In addition to getting your sleep, some relaxation and breathing techniques can have benefits for both mental wellness and lung health.
Dr. Patel recommends “4-7-8 breathing,” which involves inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds and then exhaling for eight seconds.
Benefits of breathing exercises may include lower stress and anxiety levels, lower blood pressure and better sleep.
Manage your asthma
If you have asthma, know your lungs and avoid the environmental triggers that cause the condition to flare up, Dr. Patel said. Common triggers include pet dander, seasonal changes, allergens like perfume and smoke inhalation.
Asthma can also run in families, although there is often no specific reason why a person develops asthma, Dr. Patel said.
“Sometimes people underestimate how bad asthma can be,” Dr. Patel said.
If you have asthma, see your primary care physician to monitor your lung health. Pulmonologists specialize in caring for people’s lungs, and they often collaborate with primary care clinicians to create personalized plans to manage their patients’ asthma.
Ask your care team about screenings
Early detection is key in cancer treatment, but many lung cancers present in later stages, Dr. Patel said.
“In that area in the middle of the lungs and the middle of the chest, there are no pain fibers or pain sensors in there,” Dr. Patel said. “If a tumor occurs there, patients don’t know it. They don’t feel it, and it doesn’t hurt them.”
Lung cancer is sometimes found when it spreads and causes complications, Dr. Patel said.
If you are at increased risk for developing lung cancer, ask your care team about screenings. You should consider screenings if you are a current or past smoker. Visit our lung cancer screening page to learn more about if screening, which involves low-dose CT scans, could benefit you. To keep up with your lung health, find a Wellstar physician near you.