10 questions every man should ask his doctor

Everyone knows men aren't always keen on peppering their doctors with questions. Or, as Joshua Kosowsky, M.D., coauthor of _When Doctors Don't Listen_, bluntly put it, "Men

don't want to talk about feeling something in their testicles or having rectal bleeding." Figures from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, Md., back

that up: Men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year. But men need to change, says Kosowsky, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and

clinical director of the Brigham & Women's Hospital Emergency Medicine Department. "You have to get over the reluctance to open up to your doctors. You have to advocate for

yourself." To help ease the conversation, below are 10 key topics every man should discuss with his doctor to stay on top of his health. 1. THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF DEBATE ABOUT

WHETHER MEN SHOULD BE REGULARLY SCREENED FOR PROSTATE CANCER. TO BE FRANK, I'M CONFUSED. DO YOU THINK I NEED TO BE TESTED? "The American Urological Association recommends yearly

screening with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam for men ages 50 to 75," says James Ulchaker, a urologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Men who have a

family history of prostate cancer and African American men should begin annual screenings at age 40. PSA is a protein produced by the prostate; a blood test can show whether protein levels

are at a normal or an elevated range. However, you should talk to your doctor about what the options are if the test indicates a problem, says Kosowsky. "Prostate cancer is a very

slow-growing cancer. Even if you have it, it's not likely to kill you. And an elevated PSA may just be a sign of normal aging." If you do have an elevated PSA, one option is to

have a needle biopsy. But even if the biopsy reveals cancer, your doctor may recommend watchful waiting with a repeated PSA test every six months. "We are doing more and more watchful

waiting because we know that many men are overtreated for prostate cancer," says Ulchaker. Plus, treatment options such as the removal of the prostate or radiation therapy can have

unwelcome side effects, such as erectile dysfunction — the inability to sustain an erection — and loss of bladder control. 2. WITH AN ANNUAL PHYSICAL NOW COVERED BY INSURANCE, WHAT

SCREENINGS DO I NEED? Men over 50 should have annual physicals that include blood pressure and cholesterol screenings. Their fasting glucose, or blood sugar, levels should be tested every

three years, according to the Cleveland Clinic. "Of these, the most important is screening for high blood pressure," says Carolyn Clancy, M.D., director of AHRQ. According to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 68 million adults have high blood pressure, and more than half do not have it under control. Normal blood pressure is around 120 over 80.

"What's important is to know and write down your numbers each time," says Clancy. "If most of the time, your blood pressure is 90 over 60 and then suddenly it's 130

over 80, that's more concerning than for someone who is usually 120 over 80." If your blood pressure is high, your doctor will want to check it more often and may suggest you

monitor it with a home blood pressure machine.