PHOENIX (CBS5) -
The Arizona Department of Health services is sponsoring a lunch-and-learn for state employees in an effort to raise awareness about men's health issues.
The event will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the ADHS Laboratory Igloo, 250 N. 17 Ave. in Phoenix, and will include free prostate screenings for state employees.
The event is in honor of Men's Health Week in June. The week is an effort to increase visibility and understanding of preventable diseases among men and boys.
While most men are aware of the risks associated with prostate cancer, male breast cancer and andropause are rarely discussed, according to ADHS. Andropause is male menopause.
"Men's Health Week encourages men to get annual health checks for early detection of preventable disease," ADHS Bureau of Tobacco & Chronic disease Chief Wayne Tormala said. "It promotes healthy lifestyles and exercising on a regular basis, adding to their quality of life.
Men's Health Week also aims to educate men about how specific health issues can affect their family's lives, ADHS said.
"If they're active and feeling great, then they must be healthy," Tormala said. "In reality, you don't always notice the symptoms of life-threatening disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and prostate cancer. In each of these chronic diseases, early detection can save their life."
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