Dr. James Choi adn Dr. Andrey Espinoza discussed prostate problems and heart disease at the hospital’s first Life Lessons.
By Mae Rhine, Managing Editor
Although there was much laughter, the message was serious.
At a forum called Life Lessons on Monday night, two Hunterdon Medical Center physicians mixed humor and straightforward facts while talking about the dangers of prostate cancer and heart disease in men.
Perhaps knowing who was to follow Emmy Award-winning actor Alan Alda the two doctors, urologist James Choi and cardiologist Andrey Espinoza kept their audience of about 500 at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse in Perryville, N.J., entertained while spelling out the risks, symptoms and treatment of the two diseases.
Dr. Choi had the audience laughing when he said he first learned it was a Frenchman who said, “The patient should fear the disease, not the doctor.”
He added, “The French never get it right.”
He ended his lecture with his philosophy that “prostate disease is more often to be feared than the DRE (digital rectal examination).”
While acknowledging it wasn’t exactly “dinner conversation,” he talked about the three most common problems, prostatitis, which is inflammation of the prostate, an enlarged prostate and prostate cancer.
He said all men over 50 should have a simple blood test and examination every year. Those with a heightened risk, such as African-American men and those with a family history of problems, should be checked annually after the age of 45.
He said prostate cancer is the second leading killer of men behind lung cancer.
There were 235,000 cases in the United States in 2006. Of those, 27,000 men died from the disease.
Diet also comes into play, Dr. Choi said. A fatty diet can lead to prostate problems, he explained.
Dr. Choi pointed out that in 1920, women only lived about a year longer than men. In 2006, men were dying about six years earlier than most women.
He said that’s because women tend to get annual physicals more often than men.
Dr. Espinoza kept on that theme when he shared his own philosophy of “happy wife, happy life.”
He recalled in his early years of practicing medicine he was treating a man who suffered a heart attack after arguing with his wife. Dr. Espinoza said he was being “a good cardio fellow” and explaining the clinical aspects of the man’s condition.
An older, more experience doctor said, “Espinoza, shut up! Listen, and I will tell you one thing: Happy wife, happy life!”
Dr. Espinoza noted heart attacks are the single leading cause of death among Americans. About 1.2 million Americans have heart attacks and about half, 452,000, will die.
By comparison, 700,000 will have a stroke, and about 150,000 will die from them. He pointed out the number of deaths is lower because strokes disable people more often than they kill them.
As an interventional cardiologist, Dr. Espinoza calls himself “a plumber.”
He explained, “I fix blockages where those steak and potatoes are depositing now,” drawing laughs from the audience, which was just finishing up dinner and about to receive a calorie-laden cake for dessert.
He also showed the differences between the life expectancies for women compared to men. Women in general live 80.1 years; Caucasian woman about 80.5. Men live 74.8 years with Caucasian men living 75.3 years.
Men can control some of their destiny when it comes to heart disease, Dr. Espinoza said.
The audience laughed again when he showed a chart that said, “Real men have feelings. Real men have doctors. Real men eat fish. Real men know size matters. Obesity happens to real men.”
While men can’t control their age, sex or family history, he pointed out they can control other risk factors such as their diet and behavior.
He urged men to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise, eat right, particularly controlling their cholesterol, and reduce their stress, which can lead to a reduction in their blood pressure.
Dr. Espinoza noted 66 percent of Americans over the age of 20 are obese or overweight and explained he meant the waistline when he said “size matters.”
He urged everyone to exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Heart rates should be at a maximum to achieve the best results. Finding the maximum uses a simple formula, he said. People should subtract their age from 220 and take 60 to 80 percent of that number as the goal.
For example, a 60-year-old man’s heart rate while exercising should be between 96 and 128.
And when a doctor says one glass of alcohol a day, he means one normal size glass, Dr. Espinoza said, showing a cartoon of a man with a huge glass in front of him.
He concluded by saying the effects of stress often are underplayed because, as the anxiety level goes up, it has a negative effect over a long time.
Dr. Espinoza insisted, “Married men live longer,” although he acknowledged married women die younger.
The forum was sponsored by Hunterdon Medical Center; Hunterdon HealthCare Partners, an organization of physicians affiliated with the county hospital; and Friends’ Health Connection, a nonprofit organization that connects people who are experiencing or who have overcome the same disease, illness, handicap or injury.

