The number of men contracting prostate cancer exceeded 120,000 in 1993, and one-third of the men with the disease died. The death rate for prostate cancer has grown at almost twice the death rate of breast cancer in the last 5 years. African-American men have the world's highest incidence of prostate cancer. The number of cases of colon cancer among men exceeded 80,000 in 1993 and nearly one-third of cases ended in death. Men are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than women, and boys 10-18 are four to five times more likely than girls to commit suicide.
Men are less likely than women to have annual preventive health checks.
Men are exposed to more disabling and fatal accidents and toxic substances at the workplace, whether at the farm, construction site, mine, foundry, factory, or military establishment. In general, men are taught to engage in more high-risk behavior than women. Men are 43 times more likely than women to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals and 25 times more likely to end up in prison. Masculine behavior does not serve men well. Men are seven times more likely than women to be arrested for drunk driving and three times more likely to be alcoholics.