As I write this, it is early in June. June is Men’s Health Month, a time to focus on wellness for the male of the species. The 2026 theme is “Partners in Care: For Better Lifespans Across the Lifespan.”

For me, the Sperling Prostate Center is a committed and supportive partner in men’s wellness. Our mission is to treat the whole person, not just his prostate. Here are key areas of men’s health.

Preventive care

Men are notorious for neglecting doctor visits. An annual physical or wellness visit is important to track your health as you age, and for important screenings. The top 5 diseases that steal a man’s life are cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke and diabetes.

Screening means detecting a problem before symptoms appear. It’s the earliest opportunity to develop a successful treatment strategy. The sooner you choose a primary care physician (PCP), the sooner your baseline wellness goes on record. You are the captain of your health team, and your PCP is your coach. Your PCP can work with you to plan a future screening schedule tailored to your unique clinical profile.

In terms of your prostate health, I consistently urge men to begin annual PSA screenings at the age appropriate for your individual risk factors. Men need not fear the PSA test, thanks to multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) as follow-up to a suspicious test result. MRI can avoid an unnecessary biopsy, or guide a minimalist targeted biopsy for the least invasive yet most accurate diagnosis.

I believe in teamwork. I and my staff are happy to collaborate with your PCP and any other members of your healthcare team. The more we know about your health history, the better informed our prostate services are. Here are blogs related to this topic:

• Doctors and Patients: How We Help Each Other
• Lifesaving PSA – Does It or Doesn’t It?

Healthy habits

A healthy lifestyle goes a long way to actually prevent or lessen the severity of the 5 conditions listed above. We have a saying at Sperling Prostate Center: What’s good for the heart is good for the prostate, and vice versa. The American Heart Association cites these 2025 U.S. statistics which are truly alarming:

• Nearly 47% of U.S. adults have high blood pressure.
• More than 72% of U.S. adults have unhealthy weight (currently defined as body mass index ≥25), with nearly 42% having obesity (currently defined as body mass index ≥30).
• More than half of U.S. adults (57%) have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.

I have posted many times on the merits of non-inflammatory diet, exercise, and sleep as essential preventive lifestyle choices. Not only do these measures reduce prostate cancer risk, research shows they add up to a long and healthy life. Check out these blogs:

• A Dietary Suit of Armor for Your Heart and Your Prostate
• Do Men Need More Cardio Exercise than Women?
• 4 Ways Exercise Helps Conquer Localized Prostate Cancer

Emotional/mental wellness

For Men’s Health Month, the National Alliance on Mental Illness shines a special spotlight on emotional/mental illness. They state, “Just as the body needs care and attention, so does emotional and mental well-being. Yet, there is a silent crisis in men’s mental health — one that too often goes unnoticed or unspoken.”

Though we are not a mental health facility, prostate cancer is scary. Every day we see both the ways in which prostate cancer can make a patient stressed, depressed and anxious, and also the “big boy” ways in which our culture has encouraged males to suppress feelings. How many men put up with chronic stress in their work life, which can in fact lead to physical illness as it accumulates? Emotional tension and stress set up chronic inflammation, a known precursor of cancer, including prostate cancer.

Of course, the best way to overcome fear, anxiety, and the by-products of stress is to get rid of the cancer—that’s our primary work—but how we relate empathically and reassuringly to our patients is the human side of medicine. Many of our blogs are relevant, but I recommend these in particular:

• Don’t Let Stress Shorten Your Life (With or Without Prostate Cancer)
• 4 Stress-Related Diseases and How to Prevent Them

Also, our free e-book “How to Manage Prostate Cancer Anxiety” explains the impact of anxiety on the body’s physical systems, and offers simple ways to manage stress that have universal application, not just for prostate cancer.

I applaud the many great organizations that make a men’s health splash every June. As part of Men’s Health Month, in 2026 the week of June 15-21 is International Men’s Health Week with special events around the country. To find events in your area or join virtual campaigns, check online event platforms, national health foundations, and local community outreach programs for screenings, fitness challenges, and webinars.

Don’t wait for a once-a-year emphasis on your health as a man. Make this year and every year your personal men’s health lifetime.

NOTE: This content is solely for purposes of information and does not substitute for diagnostic or medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing pelvic pain, or have any other health concerns or questions of a personal medical nature.