4 out of 5 male caregivers are stressed

Best-kept secret? That 16 million men in America are caregivers, about 40% of total, AARP reveals

Caregiving.

That's the main theme of "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

It's also the theme of an old AARP Bulletin story that literally had fallen between the cracks of my home-office desk. It's headline: What is the best-kept secret of caregivers in America? 40 percent of them are men."

After calling male caregivers "an invisible army," the piece reports that some 16 million men care for a family member or friend.

Jean Accius, PhD

But the article cites a big problem for them (via a quote from Jean Accius, PhD and now senior vice president of AARP Global Thought Leadership): Male caregivers don't feel "comfortable asking for help, and they don't necessarily know where to turn."

Although more than 80% of those polled by the University of Michigan found the tasks rewarding, four out of every five also found them stressful.

Almost all, the story says, said the duty made them more aware of their own future needs.

The article, which also details profiles of four caregivers from Virginia, California, Florida and Massachusetts, warns that — according to C. Grace Whiting of the National Alliance for Caregiving — men who thought of themselves as caregivers "should consider that they probably will be" (italics mine).

Another AARP report, "Breaking Stereotypes," says that 25% of male caregivers help with feeding and bathing, 29% with dressing, 30% with bathroom needs.

CEO gives tips on juggling caregiving and work

Companies can help workers who are caregivers do their dual jobs better, writes AARP's chief exec

The headline read, "Companies need to care for their caregivers."

And the subhead stated unequivocally that "supporting your workers is good for business." 

Those words summed up a vintage column in the AARP Bulletin written by the organization's chief executive officer, Jo Ann Jenkins. In it, she noted that for the 60% of family caregivers who also held full- or part-time jobs, "just getting through an average day calls for complex choreography, especially when schedules and needs don't align properly."

As a result, she pointed out, an "urgent medical situation or a transportation glitch can set off a frantic scramble to fill the gaps."

The CEO's article isn't new, nor are the thoughts in it, but they're definitely worth repeating.

Jo Ann Jenkins

She asserted, for instance, that AARP research had found many employers knew caregiving benefits were "increasingly in demand by job applicants" and therefore had become "an important tool for recruiting and retaining top-notch workers."

Jenkins cited specific employers that had instituted "impressive caregiver policies," including CBS, Allianz Life, Emory University, Deloitte and Fannie Mae.

CBS, for example, offered employees "up to 15 days a year of emergency backup care services to fill in when normal care arrangements break down." And Allianz provided "quarterly educational workshops for employees who are caregivers."

Emory, meanwhile, used "a 24/7 call center to provide answers to caregiving questions," and Deloitte gave "workers up to 16 weeks of paid time off annually for caregiving."

Furthermore, Jenkins wrote, Fannie Mae employed "an onsite geriatric care consultant whose services are free to employees, with no limits on usage."

Closer to home, she reported that her organization had offered employees "two paid weeks of caregiving leave each year, in addition to the ability to use their sick leave for caregiving" — plus "flexible work arrangements…and backup care assistance for emergencies."

The AARP exec intimated that caregivers often try to perform their dual jobs "without alerting bosses, for fear of appearing less than fully committed to their jobs."

At least a quarter of all family caregivers are millennials, she mentioned, and at least "50 percent are under the age of 50." 

Clearly they need help.

"Trying to juggle work and caregiving takes a toll," Jenkins wound up. "Let's do our best to make it easier for all of them."

More information about the difficulties of and, moreover, the joys and rewards of caregiving can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Light treatments may help multiple diseases

AARP magazine holds out new hope for photodynamic therapy treatments of skin cancer

New light-therapy treatments may be helpful for skin cancer patients.

Michael R. Hamblin

At least that's a conclusion drawn by writer Christina Ianzito in a recent issue of the AARP Bulletin.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a combination of light with special drugs called photo-sensitizing agents, is an effective treatment that "often eliminates the need for surgery," her magazine story indicates.

How does it work?

"The agent is applied to the cancerous region, or to a sun-damaged area that is precancerous, on the skin or through a vein," the story says. "Once the cells absorb the agent, light is applied, causing the drug to react with oxygen. This forms a chemical that kills the cells."

Dr. Jami Lyn Miller

The AARP article quotes Michael R. Hamblin, principal investigator at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as saying the chemical "will kill anything. It's like the strongest beam of X-rays that you can imagine."

Dr. Jami Lyn Miller, dermatologist at Vanderbilt Health in Nashville, also is quoted as believing that "because it finds cells that are rapidly dividing, PDT may catch cancer that surgery doesn't."

Light therapy, the article indicates, may be used as well to treat depression, Alzheimer's Disease and certain infections.

Details about research into life-threatening ailments can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

4 screenings called unnecessary; 2 others advised

Cancer screenings after 70 can do more harm than good, AARP magazine piece indicates

If you've hit 70 — when, according to my primary doc, "you've already won the game" — the need for some cancer screenings may vanish.

In fact, at least four of them might do more harm than good, indicates an article by Candy Sagon in a recent double edition of "AARP: The Magazine."

The unnecessary tests, the piece says, are colonoscopy, mammography, PSA and Pap smear.

In their place are recommended two other tests: bone density scan and abdominal aorta aneurysm screening.

The AARP magazine article charges that "a growing number of health experts [worry that] the overtesting of those who are in their 70s, 80s and even older…could lead to invasive procedures or treatments that leave patients worse off than before, especially among those with serious health problems such as heart disease."

Those fears may have been underscored by a 2014 study published in "JAMA Internal Medicine" that found — after looking at more than 27,00 adults age 65-plus — "too many physicians automatically recommend cancer screening tests for older patients whose precarious health puts them at high risk of dying within a decade."

Dr. Harlan Krumholz

The AARP article quotes Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a Yale cardiologist and researcher known to be an outspoken critic of overtesting, as saying, "On average, those over 75 derive fewer benefits than younger people do."

Women, the piece suggests, should be getting routine bone density scans "beginning at 65 (or earlier, depending on their risk factors)," while men 70 and older need that particular test "to check for osteoporosis."

Regarding the abdominal screening, the article says "men 65 to 75 who have been smoking anytime during their lifetimes should have a onetime ultrasound to screen for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)" — though the story hedges about whether the screening would benefit women who'd smoked.

As for the colonoscopies, it says a new Harvard study of "more than 1.3 million Medicare patients ages 70 to 79" found the risk of complications to be larger than the cancer risk. Obviously, however, "if you've had a polyp removed or have a family history of colon cancer, you risk is higher, and you should probably be screened. If not, you may be able to finally skip all that lovely laxative prep."

The AARP article cites the opinion of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force when it comes to the mammograms. The USPSTF purportedly found "insufficient evidence" to conclude that mammography past 74 is necessary. It's likely, the agency indicated, that benefits of the screenings at that advanced age are limited.

Not a single medical group apparently recommends PSA screenings for prostate cancer beyond age 75 — even though 41 percent of men in that category still have the test (most often at the urging of their doctors).

If women have, after age 65, had no cancer or precancerous lesions, and have had three negative smears to check for cervical cancer in the previous 10 years, there's no need for one more smear. Unfortunately, the AARP story says at least one study indicates, "most women have become so accustomed to having an annual Pap smear that they have them even after undergoing a hysterectomy."

The benefits and burdens of screenings in general are addressed in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.