At Planned Parenthood, we’re passionate about women’s health, and indeed, our health care centers are well known for their top-notch services aimed at the female population. But not a lot of people associate Planned Parenthood with men’s health — despite the fact that we offer a wide range of services for men, ranging from those you expect (like condoms) to those you might not expect (like smoking cessation).

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Planned Parenthood offers cancer screening and family-planning options for men, as well as an array of services that include cholesterol screening, diabetes screening, and even smoking cessation.

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Sexually active people should be screened for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) — even if your partner has negative test results, that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear, so you can’t rely on your significant other to provide your STD screening “by proxy.” Especially because so many STDs are asymptomatic, it’s better to get yourself tested. We can screen and treat for STDs, as well as offer preventive vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and human papillomavirus (HPV). Most people associate the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, with females, since HPV is behind 99 percent of cervical cancers. But males can benefit from Gardasil as well. Not only will they be protecting their partners, but they will also be protecting themselves from the viruses that can cause precancerous penile lesions as well as the majority of genital warts and anal cancers.

Men’s services also include life-saving cancer screening — we can check you out for prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, or testicular cancer. We can also evaluate penile lesions, which might lead to penile cancer if left untreated. These might not be the kind of check-ups anyone looks forward to, but they represent the kind of preventive health care that can save your life — or just your money — down the road.

We can also treat urinary tract infections (UTIs). Most people think of women when they think of UTIs, but these infections can affect men as well and are just as painful. Luckily, antibiotics don’t recognize gender, so UTIs are just as easy to treat in males as they are in females.

And, of course, Planned Parenthood is indelibly associated with its mission to put the power of family planning into the hands of individuals and couples. For most of history, the birth-control burden has fallen on women’s shoulders. This is still the case today, as evidenced by the wide variety of options women have to control their reproductive destinies, from diaphragms and IUDs to a plethora of permutations on hormonal birth-control methods. These technological advances have done worlds of good for all females of reproductive age — but that doesn’t mean that guys aren’t similarly empowered to control their reproductive destinies. Whether you just want to come down to a health care center to pick up some condoms, or have an in-depth talk about your birth control options with our staff, a Planned Parenthood near you can meet your needs.

Finally, Planned Parenthood Arizona offers general-health services to both male and female clients, such as cholesterol screening, diabetes screening, thyroid testing, liver/renal function screening, and even smoking cessation.

We take most insurance plans, provide discounted cash pricing, and also have Title X federally funded services available to those who qualify. Men can support Planned Parenthood’s dedication to preventive health care and make an appointment at one of their 13 health centers in Arizona.

For more information on our men’s health services, please visit online at www.ppazhookup.org.