Ideas That Work:Man Cave For Prostate Health

Can a urology waiting room designed to look more like a locker room prod men to get a prostate exam? The urology department at Mount Sinai Health System is betting big on it. Mount Sinai's Man Cave prostate health and treatment center opened in Midtown Manhattan in February. With 65-inch wall-mounted TVs tuned to sports programming and signed memorabilia adorning the walls, the Man Cave is every guy's dream den (there's a free coffee bar, but no adult beverages), but it's not all fun and games.

The Man Cave provides educational resources on prostate health to encourage men to get screened for prostate cancer, which fewer than 2 in 100 men between the ages of 40 and 64 bother to do. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, making it the most common cancer among men other than skin cancer. The Man Cave "offers a new way to start a conversation about health issues that men avoid discussing," says Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, chair of Mount Sinai's department of urology.

— Dan O'Connor