ISSSTE launches men's health campaign

For the second year in a row, the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers ( ISSTE ) has launched the campaign “February, Month of Men's Health,” which in addition to raising awareness about prostate cancer diagnosis and prevention of chronic diseases – such as diabetes and hypertension – seeks to encourage timely diagnosis of testicular cancer, given that 60% of cases are diagnosed in advanced stages of cancer.

According to José Reyes Baeza, general director of the ISSSTE, in Mexico, 17 men die every day as a consequence of prostate cancer, which in its early stages has 90% of survival rate and 100% if it hasn't metastasized.

The director emphasized that the campaign aims to break down the paradigms among male beneficiaries regarding their health and medical treatment.

The campaign will have the support of all the organizations of the Ministry of Health across the entire country to promote prevention in the male population.

For the second year in a row, the National Insitute of Social Security ( IMSS ) will also be joining the ISSSTE's campaign, according to the head of the Institute, Tuffic Miguel Ortega.

During the 2017 campaign, the ISSSTE diagnosed 1,375% more cases of prostate cancer than in 2016 and performed 17,284 digital rectal exams, which showed the progress “on the cultural aspect which holds us back from getting screened on time to rule out any malignant tumor. ”

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