MANKATO — Four-wheelers, putting greens and chance to meet ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant may have drawn men through the doors of the Midwest Wireless Civic Center Tuesday, but disease prevention was the main event.
The theme of the second annual Mankato Clinic Men’s Health Forum was preventative health care, with a focus on prostate health, colon cancer and cardiovascular disease.
In between the pontoon boats from Mapleton Marine and the hogs from Mankato Harley-Davidson were stations where clinic staff checked the glucose levels and blood pressure of attendees.
“We wanted to create an environment that would be comfortable for men to come to,” Mankato Clinic Public Relations Director Katie Nerem Roth said.
The tactic seemed to work, enticing dozens of men — most appearing to be in their 40s, 50s or 60s — onto the civic center floor.
But is the stereotype of the stoic male, reluctant to seek medical help until his wife prods him, still accurate? Some attendees said that is changing, with more men taking a proactive approach to their health.
Keith Brekke of North Mankato said colon and prostate cancer were already on his radar screen. But the event did give Brekke a good excuse to learn a little more, he said.
“I think — my generation anyway — people are more inclined to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” the baby boomer said. “Everybody wants to live longer and live healthier.”
Those who stayed for presentations by Mankato Clinic doctors learned about advances in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, and the importance of a colon-cancer screening in preventing the second leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.
Dr. Eric Storvick described the relationship between obesity and higher rates of diabetes and heart disease.
Then — finally — Bud Grant took the stage. He shared his thoughts on the current state of the Vikings (“they have the nucleus of a pretty good team”); the Daunte Culpepper trade (“I would have tried a little harder to keep him here”); and whether he misses coaching a professional football team (“absolutely every time I go to the bank”).
But Grant also added his two cents to the health discussion. A fervent anti-smoker, he recalled his efforts — often successful — to get the players he coached to quit.
And for all those men who squirmed through the colonoscopy discussion, he offered some encouragement: “It must work, because I’m still here.”
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