Some men avoid doctors like the plague. (seeking a better analogy here) They don’t feel well, they complain and still they do nothing, that is, until their wives drag them to see a physician. Why do men do that? Some men shy away from seeing doctors because they fear receiving bad news,” said Dr. Joseph Alukal, urologist, and director of Men's Health at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia.

Quality of life in our later years is often a matter of our lifestyle choices. While genetics play a role in longevity, lifestyle matters too. Some scientists have speculated that for our first seven or eight decades, lifestyle is a stronger determinant of health and life span than genetics.

If you’re covered by Medicare you are entitled to an annual physical, including comprehensive lab work, including a PSA to check your prostate. An internist, 46 years in private practice and a lifelong friend of mine, has a suggestion for us. “Your favorite pro football team doesn’t go into Sunday’s game without having a game plan. You should have a game plan too,” he says. His prescription includes the following actions:

Have an annual physical. Helps you establish a plan for the next year in terms of what you should be doing and what you should avoid. Keep in mind that medical science changes over time and new diagnostic and treatment regimens are introduced.

See a dermatologist every year. A lot of us were sun worshipers in our youth. We would use baby oil to enhance the chances of getting a good tan. The damage can show up decades later. A lot of skin cancers are the result of our behavior years ago.

See an optometrist or opthamologist every year to check for eye diseases like glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration.

Exercise regularly. As it turns out, exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous or overly time-consuming. Until recently, Experts recommended at least 10,000 steps a day to improve your health. According to an article in Healthline, “researchers have found that walking as few as 2,500 steps a day can improve your health and walking just 4,000 steps a day can lower one’s risk of death, according to the findings.”  

Don’t smoke. Drink in moderation. No drug abuse.

Diet: If your BMI is over 25 you are overweight. There is plenty of advice about how to achieve weight loss. Eating a balanced diet in moderation, being careful with carbohydrates, is usually what works best.      

My physician friend added another very interesting point. “I see a lot of older men in my practice. What I find men often know their doing something wrong when it comes to their health. They don’t want to visit me because they don’t want to hear it. Their wives often drag them in, but some of them are uncooperative patients.”