This one’s for you, guys. The newly reauthorized Congressional Men’s Health Caucus is zeroing in on men’s health issues, as part of a bipartisan effort to tackle prostate cancer awareness and veterans’ health as top legislative healthcare priorities during the next few years, according to a press release from Men’s Health Network (MNH), the national nonprofit that will work closely with Congress to push this agenda.
Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) and Donald Payne, Jr. (D-New Jersey) will lead the caucus. Payne recently lost his father to colorectal cancer and pledged to raise awareness about the disease that’s the most prevalent form of cancer among U.S. men. Specifically, the group organized a prostate cancer task force to reach out to three groups at risk of colorectal cancer: African Americans, veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during military service and people with a family history of the condition.
What’s more, this task force will also target additional issues of importance to military veterans. They hope to reach many of the 70 to 80 percent of veterans who don’t use the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) for medical care, despite them having physical and mental health conditions related to their service.
“Men live sicker and die younger than women,” David Gremillion, MD, a board member at the Men’s Health Network (MHN), a nonprofit working closely with the caucus on these health issues, said in the release. “They have unique risks at each stage of life.”
Previously, the caucus worked with MHN to educate Congress and the public about medical problems such as urological health issues, traumatic brain injuries and prostate cancer screenings.
For more information about certain health risks that are specific to African-American men, click here.
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