Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Heart Health & Father’s Day
In the lead up to Father’s Day in the UK, we wanted to shine the spotlight on the heart health of the men reading our tips, or the men in your life.
Coronary heart disease generally affects more men than women and it’s important to be aware of this. It’s common for men to not prioritise their health until it stops them from living their life.
This Father’s Day, why not make a commitment to yourself or support a father figure in your life to take positive steps that contribute to the health of their hearts? Here are some ideas!
A heart healthy breakfast
Treat yourself or the fatherly figures in your life to a heart healthy breakfast. Instead of a greasy fry-up why not provide a breakfast full of omega-3 such as poached egg, smoked salmon and avocado on multi-seeded toast. It’s easy to make, healthy and delicious!
A healthy gift
Father’s Day usually means buying gifts which tend to be not so heart healthy, like chocolates and alcohol.
Choose a heart healthy gift option like an active day out such as paintballing, paddle boarding or even a set of cooking classes you can attend together to inspire you both to cook more from scratch.
Take up a healthy hobby together
Use Father’s Day as an opportunity to engage your dad or fatherly figure in a healthy hobby together, this could be walking, running, sailing or even climbing.
Everyone can benefit from being more active and you could buy lessons for an activity as a gift and make it something you do together long-term, which will also benefit your heart health.
For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips.
The SPFL Trust have teamed up with Prostate Scotland to launch Prostate Football Fans in Training, a new 12-week pilot project for men living with prostate cancer.
The SPFL Trust have teamed up with Prostate Scotland to launch Prostate Football Fans in Training, a new 12-week pilot project for men living with prostate cancer.
An initial phase of this project will take place in the capital at Tynecastle, delivered by Heart of Midlothian FC.
The pilot is a tailored version of Football Fans in Training (FFIT) the SPFL Trust’s flagship health and wellbeing programme which takes place at football clubs across the country, helping people to get active and feel fitter, healthier and happier.
Working together with experts from Prostate Scotland, the University of Glasgow Health and Wellbeing Institute and The Exercise Clinic, the programme has been developed based on clinical guidelines for men living with prostate cancer, which recommend a structured 12-week exercise programme.
Prostate FFIT is open to all men living with prostate cancer, who can self-refer online, or be referred by a clinician.
As well as getting the opportunity to take part in exercise supported by trained coaches, participants will learn more about nutrition. They will also receive a personal workbook to help them follow the course and have access to specifically developed videos to continue exercise at home.
Crucially, Prostate FFIT will create space for men affected by prostate cancer to meet others in a similar situation, offering informal peer support.
SPFL Trust CEO Nicky Reid said: “Football Fans in Training is our flagship health and wellbeing programme, with over 7,000 people completing the initiative over the last 12 years.
“In this time we’ve learnt that a key strength of the programme is the environment – the familiarity of a football club can go a long way in encouraging people to take that first step.
“We are delighted to have been able to work with partners to tailor FFIT for men living with prostate cancer. Exercise is such an important part of their treatment, and we feel privileged to be a small part of their journey.”
Director of Prostate Scotland Adam Gaines said: ““Research and clinical guidelines show the importance of exercise for men with prostate cancer. This new and innovative exercise programme is aimed at helping tackle the impact prostate cancer can have on the lives of men living with prostate cancer, especially for those on hormone therapy.
“The benefit of Prostate FFIT courses, offered in professional football clubs, is in providing engaging, beneficial and helpful exercise and healthy lifestyle courses in line with clinical guidelines. There are too few specialist exercise courses for men with prostate cancer in Scotland. We aim to close that gap.
“We are delighted to have developed Prostate FFIT with our partners the SPFL Trust and the University of Glasgow.”
Chris Cottrellwho lives with advanced prostate cancer and is co-founder of The Exercise Clinic who helped to develop the Prostate FFIT said: “My message is that for many, exercise is one of the best ways to get back some control of your life during a period when I certainly felt I was at risk of losing control.
“There are few things that are more bewildering and disempowering than being told that you have cancer, so regaining a sense of agency is vital. There is now strong evidence that men with prostate cancer who exercise consistently have a better survival rate.”
Gregg Veitch,Community Football Officer at Heart of Midlothian, said: “We are delighted to be involved in the pilot delivery of Prostate FFIT. We have seen first-hand how beneficial FFIT can be to our supporters and are delighted to be able to offer this programme to even more people.
“Prostate FFIT will kick off Tuesday 17th Janaury at Tynecastle. To get involved, contact Gregg Veitch by emailing GreggVeitch@homplc.co.uk “
An award winning surgeon, who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of people with kidney stones, is now hoping to save lives by raising awareness of the impacts of prostate cancer.
Mr Gareth Jones, an Endourological surgeon with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, was recently recognised for his life changing work, which saw him bring new kidney stone operation practices to the West of Scotland while training new surgeons in modern procedures.
But now his attention is focused on helping to raise awareness about prostate cancer, a disease that his impacted him personally and affects one in eight men in the UK.
Gareth, 55, was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in June 2021 and since has been very vocal about why men should ensure they are getting checked. With November a dedicated awareness raising month, through campaigns such as Movember, Gareth is urging as many men as possible to listen to advice as it could save their life.
The surgeon, who has worked at Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary since 2002, said: “It’s so vital that men get checked. It’s simple and relatively painless. If prostate cancer is caught early then you have so much more of a better chance of cure. Getting checked for prostate cancer should be front and centre when it comes to men’s health.
“For me, as a surgeon you sometimes think you can cope with most things but getting this news was very, very difficult. I had an accelerated diagnoses so it all happened very quickly. If I’m being honest I’m still processing it now. I have got stage four prostate cancer, so it’s all about managing it now.
“There are so many factors you don’t really consider or think about, there are the obvious physical impacts but there are so many psychological aspects to this too. I have been really well supported though my journey , by friends and colleagues , with the input of the palliative care team and psychologists at Maggie’s too.
“I’m not currently working, so what I have been doing recently is supporting the Prostate Cancer UK Scotland Hub with the view of helping out whenever I am able to. This involves raising awareness and looking for opportunities to get stands back in hospitals following the COVID-19 pandemic and also educate our partners in General Practice.”
As well as playing his part in raising awareness, Gareth has raised over £4,400 for the charity, covering over 180 miles, swimming, cycling, running and walking back in January.
The father of two, from Cambuslang, said: “I was looking to do some fundraising in January for lifesaving research and support for men and their families affected by prostate cancer.
“I planned to do the distance of a marathon over the month. But I got a bit carried away and did a bit more than that. I have a triathlon and Ironman history, so I decided I would do an iron man over the month. I ended up getting that finished within a week so I just carried on adding more to the challenge.
“I would meet friends and we’d cycle or do a bit of running. I remember one Friday going to the pool at Tollcross and completing a 1.9km swim. I also went on the heritage park in East Kilbride with my wife and friends and cycled at Whitelee Windfarm too. I travelled to Switzerland for work at one point and used that as an opportunity to walk down the mountains.”
Last month, Gareth was honoured by the British Association of Urological Surgeons with the inaugural Silver Ureteroscope Award, for his dedication to endourology training in Glasgow and the west of Scotland since his own training back in 1997. Gareth received the award at the annual BAUS endourology meeting in Southampton and admits it all came as a bit of a shock.
He said: “I was really surprised to learn that I was going to be given the award as it’s the first time they have given it out, so I wasn’t even aware of it.
“When I was training I noticed that there was a need for advanced kidney stone operations and a more formal stone service in Glasgow and the West of Scotland so became really interested in learning all I could and passing that on to others.
“I didn’t really know how to respond to the award , it’s really humbling.”
