I wanted to wait until today to add some things to what I said before, because my annual physical was today.
One thing I want to talk about is vision. I think everyone I know has someone in their families, who have had cataracts, especially with older people. But I have an aunt and a cousin once removed who have macular degeneration. It affects the retina and you slowly go blind and there is no cure. Knowing this I've been very protective of my eyes. I always wear them when I drive. In the summer, I go fishing with my brother just about every weekend on his boat. We are usually out there on the ocean for hours and you never catch me without sunglasses. In fact, if I forgot to bring a pair with me, I probably couldn't go out because it hurts my eyes to be without them.
Every year I go for a comprehensive eye exam at a place called the New England eye center. They do a thorough exam. On your first visit, they map the inside of the eye so they can tell in future visits if there are any changes. Now I hadn't noticed any problems with my vision, but they told me I was in the very early stages of cataracts. I asked the doctor if there was anything I could do to keep the situation from getting worse such as taking vitamins or supplements and all she said was eat healthy and wear sunglasses.
So with my physical today, the doctor did an eye exam with that typical instrument they have for looking in the eye and he made no mention of cataracts which is good because it means they can't be that bad, but it shows that a regulad doctor's visit may not detect cataracts at their early stages.
So doing a little sunglasses research, it's best to have polarized glasses and ones with 100% UVA and UVB protection. It's easy to test for polarization in a pair you buy, but I don't know if there's a way to test for the UVA and UVB but if they have polarization, they probably protect against A & B. Also you should get the wrap around type for as complete protection as you can get and you don't have to buy these expensive Ray Bans to get good protection.
Another thing Ihave to discuss is having your PSA checked which of course is a check for prostrate cancer. I'm pretty sure I wrote in here how a couple of years ago, during my yearly physical, my PSA count went up to 7.4 when the high limit was 5.8 at the time. So they did a biopsy ( That's the worst pain I've had in my life), they said I had cancer. So they sent me to another hospital for an MRI. It was the Beth Israel Deaconess hospital, one of the many prestigous ones in this area. One doctor came in and did a rectal exam. He left and another doctor came in and said he wanted to do a rectal exam. I asked "How many more doctors are waiting out in that hallway????".
Anyway they said they couldn't say for sure whether I had it or not, which surprised me. The biopsy took 13 bites out of me. Seven came back positive. Isn't that a definitive check? Any who, they recommended I have my PSA checked every 6 months which I've been doing. Last year it went back down to 6.2, but on this most recent visit, today, it's back up to 7.0, so I have to see the Urologist soon. The only good thing is they said if it is cancer, they think it's a very slow growing type. I've seen several people around me who've found out they had cancer and within a short time, they were gone, so I actually feel very fortunate at this point.
I'll also want to mention something else concerning cancer. Me and a lot of my coworkers take advantage of the good medical insurance we have by going every year for a physical. But there is one guy I work with who's about my age and last year they found some test results that were off and they found he had an advanced state of cancer when he had been feeling great.
Another guy I worked with had issuess with his stomach. He had been going to doctors every 6 months to monitor the situation. At his last visit, they told him he was doing so well that he shouldn't have to come back for another year, but within a few months, he started having stomach problems. He saw his doctor and they said he had a very advanced case of stomach cancer. He left work a couple of days later and within a week he was dead. It was a very sad case.
So you have to do what you can to protect yourself, but there are no guarantees in this world. You could go every day to the doctors for a check up and still find out one day your days are numbered.
Know your family's history.slowly go blind and there is no cure.
If you have good insurance that allows you to have regular check ups, take full advantage of it.
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