Guys, get checked: Buck

Affco slaughterman Taumutu Purewa gets his blood pressure checked by registered nurse Maia Topp, under the watchful eye of former All Black captain Buck Shelford.

All Blacks hero and cancer survivor Wayne "Buck" Shelford challenged freezing workers at Affco to take charge of their well-being and man up to regular health checks.

Shelford's message was aimed at the men in the room who sat slouched in chairs or rested against walls with arms folded. He broke the ice by assembling the room like a scrum, and asked people to "come in close like a football team, come together".

"I might play rugby again; does the Te Puke team need any players?"

That comment stirred a few laughs but backs straightened when he told the crowd how a watering eye led to the discovery his body was riddled with cancer in 2007.

"They took my eye out. There was a lump behind it.

"The optometrist actually found nothing wrong with my eye and referred me to a specialist. Within 48 hours, I was receiving treatment for lymphoma - that was how fast this happened."

Shelford credits seeking early medical help to saving his life. He stared his own mortality in the face and dealt with the three dreaded Ds - death, dead and dying - but wanted to live for his children and watch his mokopuna grow up.

It was an awakening Shelford could not ignore and, coupled with putting on 40kg because of "eating all the pies", it inspired him to make a change.

He says women go to the doctor all the time "but we (men) are too staunch".

"We are scared and afraid. But it is better to know than not to know."

Statistics show Maori men only live to an average age of 60 to 63, while a European male could expect to live until 73.

"And what are we going to do about it?" he asked.

Diet is a major factor and Shelford encourages people to make changes and eat the food their grandmothers would have recognised.

Avoid KFC and the drive-thru at McDonald's. Shop on the outer perimeters of the supermarket where the fruit, vegetables and meat are. Avoid the middle aisles as they are full of processed foods and ingredients people don't even know how to spell.

Swap white bread for grainy bread because if you take the crusts off white bread and soak the rest in water it turns to glue, he says.

Affco has a gym on-site and Shelford says workers need to get fit and competitive.

"Start a weightlifting team and create an environment where you can work out. Exercise is a great medicine."

He urges people to go to the doctor at least once a year and take advantage of the free health checks available at Affco once a month.

"Get your blood pressure tested, get your heart tested, do all those checks. Diabetes is the fifth biggest cause of death in Maoridom."

Men also need to be aware of developing prostate cancer and testicular cancer, which can kill if left undetected.

Shelford is an advocate for the DRE - digital rectal examination - and says it is important blokes examine their testes for abnormalities.

His korero was met with murmurs of agreement as workers shuffled out, homeward bound or ready to start the nightshift. Another stream was headed straight for the nurses.