Prostate Cancer

It's Men's Health Week, and public health officials are encouraging men to pay more attention to their bodies. Not only should they be paying more attention to little changes that don't seem right, they should be getting annual checkups. Diseases common in older men such as prostate cancer can be treated when found early, and other conditions can be prevented from getting worse, says Mercy Medical Center urologist Dr. Ira Hantman. How often do men need to get a general checkup, and what do doctors look for?

Although the namesake of the Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game was unable to attend the annual event at Camden Yards on Monday, the Orioles legend wasn't far from the thoughts of those participating. "Brooks wants to be here," said K.J. Hockaday, an Orioles draft pick from John Carroll. "We're just praying he gets better. " Robinson's health came in to question when he missed the announcement of the game's rosters Wednesday at the Warehouse at Camden Yards. Mount St. Joseph coach David Norton, who has served as chairman of the game since 1987, said it was only the second time he could remember Robinson not appearing at the roster announcement.

The absence of one Hall-of-Famer was apparent this week during the press conference to introduce the rosters for the 30th annual Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game. In his opening remarks Wednesday at the Warehouse at Camden Yards, local sportscaster Keith Mills touched on why legendary Oriole Brooks Robinson was not present. "And the reason Brooks is not here today is because, as many of you know, he is battling a very, very serious illness and [is] a little under the weather once again," Mills said.

Care for cancer patients The Wellness House of Annapolis offers services and programs for those living with cancer and for their relatives, including children. Walk-in hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays. All classes and services are free for cancer patients, caregivers and families. Pre-registration is required. The Wellness House is at 2625 Mas Que Farm Road. Appointments: 410-990-0941 or wellnesshouse@comcast.net . Health report card The county Department of Health announces its annual report card of community health indicators.

County Council Chairman Calvin Ball and the Health Department are co-hosting the county's third annual men's health fair June 4. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Howard High School in Ellicott City. "The goal is to increase the awareness of ongoing health topics related to men and provide prevention and detection opportunities as well as resources for living a healthy lifestyle to attendees," according to a news release. The health fair will include free screenings for blood pressure, body mass index, prostate cancer, kidney evaluations, bone density, glaucoma, vision, skin irregularities and more..

I object in the strongest terms to the unfounded allegations in Jay Hancock 's column "Self-referral rules or not, business as usual for clinic" (May 17). The column is a one-sided, uninformed attack on the integrity of those who practice and work at Chesapeake Urology Associates. At Chesapeake Urology, treatment decisions are made by our patients and their families only after all available options are presented and discussed. We only do what is best for our patients. To suggest otherwise, as Mr. Hancock does, is insulting to us and to our profession.