Photo By Daniela Vestal | Brig. Gen. B. Lynne Owens (from left), deputy commanding general, Human Resources...... read more read more
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FORT KNOX, Ky. - U.S. Army Human Resources Command set aside Sept. 10 to educate employees on health issues and concerns specific to men.
The health day kicked off with 245 people from across the organization and Fort Knox participating in a 5K fun run/walk to raise awareness of prostate cancer and the issues surrounding it.
September is national prostate cancer awareness month. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among American men. Today, has killed more than 27, 00 of our nation’s husbands, sons and brothers this year Col. Ardis Porter, deputy chief of staff, HRC, told the early-morning racers.
“This morning’s 5K serves to both raise awareness about prostate cancer and demonstrate HRC’s commitment to encouraging exercise and helping all members of the Army family and our civilian population live longer, healthier lives,” Porter said. “Working to raise awareness about prostate cancer we can help men make more informed decisions about their health, including choices which will help prevent cancer such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy diet and weight and exercising.”
Master Sgt. Robin Ayers helped organize the fun run as she has many other similar events for HRC. She said she was happy to see a wide range of the HRC workforce participating in the early morning event. More of the civilian workforce participated in the Prostate Cancer 5K Fun Run/Walk than in any other running event recently put on by the command, she said.
“You have to be able to make events that are relevant to everybody, military and civilian,” Ayers said. “With more civilians participating than ever before, it shows this event has done that.”
Following the race, several booths were set up at the HRC Resiliency Center to educate attendees on a range of choices for leading a healthy lifestyle.
One booth was set up by Hardin Memorial Health and was accompanied by their Wellness on Wheels mobile which provided free blood pressure and blood glucose screenings.
Karen Blaiklock, the health and wellness promotion manager for Hardin Memorial Health, spent the afternoon talking to HRC employees about the importance of knowing their health "snapshot."
A health snapshot is a set of basic numbers that tell a person where they are in terms of health and risk factors, said Blaiklock. A person should know their weight and body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose level.
“It’s up to you,” said Blaiklock. “It’s all about knowing your risk factors and the choices you make about what you want to do with your lifestyle. Whether you want to exercise, whether you want to eat right, and then partner with your health care professional to know your personal family risk factors and what you can do to continue on the right path.”
The WOW mobile will return to HRC Oct. 8 for Women’s Health Day. It can normally be found outside of the Walmart in Radcliff the first Monday of every month, where they offer more screenings at free to little cost. More information on the WOW mobile can be found at www.hmh.net/hmhwebsite/Education.aspx?PageID=46 or by Googling Hardin Memorial Wellness on Wheels mobile.
Capt. Charles Powell, from Ireland Army Community Hospital, spoke about prostate cancer and some of the preventive measures men can take to defend against the disease and, if needed, catch it in its early stages, where it can be treated with a very high chance of success.
If prostate cancer is caught in its early stages, before it has left the prostate, there is a 99 percent survival rate, said Powell. Once it has left the prostate and proliferated to other organs, the survival rate drops to 30 percent.
“Catching it early is very important and it’s something that can be done based on the digital rectal exam and the prostate-specific antigen blood test; knowing the signs and symptoms; and looking out for those things that lead down a path of prostate cancer,” Powell said. “It would heartbreaking both for the patient and the family to have something that could have been contained and could have been treated and cured and have it proliferate to a point that now it’s out of their control and leads to end of life.”
After the guest speaker, a group discussion was held in which staff members shared their own experiences with prostate cancer and spoke in depth about the disease and its effect on their lives.
Lt. Col. Randall Freeman, M.D., HRC command surgeon, said events such as Men’s Health Day are a good way to give people the tools they need to improve their health and fit in with the Army’s current emphasis on improving the health and lifestyles of its population, both military and civilian.
The important thing is to get started making healthy choices now, said Freeman.
“Getting started is always the hardest part,” Freeman said. “It’s hard to change your mindset to say, I will change my lifestyle and go in a different direction. Everyone wants the easy fix, pop a pill – drop your cholesterol; pop a pill – fix your cancer; pop a pill – lower your blood pressure. It’s easy to try and use pharmaceuticals to fix what’s wrong with you, whereas the lasting and more appropriate results are going to come from getting out there, exercising regularly and changing your diet.”
HRC will host a Women’s Health Day Oct. 8.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2015 14:22 |
| Story ID: | 177644 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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