# Masturbation (and Sex) CAUSES Prostate Cancer!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 26, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128 "2009-01-26T21:55:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/21 "2009-01-27T11:50:51Z")
Yet more proof (if any was still needed at this point) that Mother Nature is a heartless bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/22 "2009-01-27T12:25:01Z")
Eating bread causes death: 98% of bread eaters will die at some point in their lives. Figure has 2% uncertainty. ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/23 "2009-01-27T12:28:36Z")
How in the world did they find enough people for the control group? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/24 "2009-01-27T13:43:57Z")
I’m confused by the statistics. I think they’re classic cases of easily manipulated numbers that can be made to say anything, and therefore really say nothing. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/25 "2009-01-27T13:52:08Z")
[Post hoc ergo propter hoc.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc) Not only that, but people filling out surveys about their sexual habits (especially what they did years previously) are completely unreliable – who keeps a record of such things? ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/26 "2009-01-27T14:16:05Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not only that, but people filling out surveys about their sexual habits (especially what they did years previously) are completely unreliable – who keeps a record of such things? I don’t _keep_ one, but I’ve _set_ a couple. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/27 "2009-01-27T14:25:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > who keeps a record of such things? And… 11129 times for me. I need a little nap. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/28 "2009-01-27T15:05:22Z")
Gross. My dad had prostate cancer. That’s a visual I can live without. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/29 "2009-01-27T15:12:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Men who are very sexually active in their twenties and thirties are more likely to develop prostate cancer, especially if they masturbate frequently, according to a study of more than 800 men. I had heard exactly the opposite and followed that practice rigorously. If this new finding is true, I should have died 5 years ago. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/30 "2009-01-27T15:49:28Z")
\*Life has a 100% mortality rate. Whatever happened to that report last year that said orgasming was supposed to help prevent prostate cancer? We’re right back to the eggs are good/bad/good/bad/good argument, or the one where cell phones do/don’t/do/don’t/do/don’t cause cancer. Besides: a correlative link is not a causative link. I’ll keep fapping away, thank you very much.\* ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/31 "2009-01-27T18:43:56Z")
According to a few doctors I’ve seen for different reasons, including prostrate problems, all any man has to do in order to develop prostrate cancer is to live long enough. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/32 "2009-01-27T19:06:59Z")
My doctor, after my yearly physical 3 weeks ago, asked me if I was sexually active, I answered “no”. He then told me I need to ejaculate more. i gave him the best Jack Benny silent answer I could have. So now I can go into a bar and tell the chicks “doctor’s orders!” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/33 "2009-01-27T19:17:53Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > My doctor, after my yearly physical 3 weeks ago, asked me if I was sexually active, I answered “no”. He then told me I need to ejaculate more. i gave him the best Jack Benny silent answer I could have. Shoulda told him “I’m very flattered, but isn’t that against AMA rules?” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/34 "2009-01-27T20:00:24Z")
The Goddess is only interested in babies. After you’ve fired off a couple thousand rounds, if you haven’t done your job, She doesn’t care. The correct life trajectory for us drones is 1) make babies, and 2) die. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/35 "2009-01-27T20:18:41Z")
> [@Omegaman](#): > > Don’t go getting all happy. We both know what’s going to happen. You’ll wake up in the hospital and everyone will be talking about they found you on the floor with your pee-pee in your hand.🙂 Just have your line ready: “Did the stone pass?” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/36 "2009-01-27T21:50:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > [Post hoc ergo propter hoc.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc) > > Not only that, but people filling out surveys about their sexual habits (especially what they did years previously) are completely unreliable – who keeps a record of such things? [Facebook users, it seems.](http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/27/facebook-users-are-becoming-big-fans-of-masturbation-and-other-fan-page-stats/) > [@](#): > > A fan page dedicated to masturbation grew 11,900 percent in the last week and is the No. 8 fastest-growing page. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/37 "2009-01-27T21:55:06Z")
Facebook, masturbatory? Never! ---
**Author:** ![John\_H\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@John\_H\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_H_1)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/38 "2009-01-27T22:13:43Z")
If you read the link, the researchers mention hormone levels and sex drive as the suspected cause and the reason for the study. (Hormone levels and sex drive influence the frequency of masturbation/sex.) Still it remains a theory. You can’t just make a leap from correlation to causation. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/39 "2009-01-27T22:37:51Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’m confused by the statistics. I think they’re classic cases of **easily manipulated** numbers that can be made to say anything, and therefore really say nothing. Manipulate what, now? ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128/40 "2009-01-27T23:49:43Z")
Okay, I swore years ago that when the medical community officially decreed that sex is bad for you, I would completely ignore everything after that. This is it. Credibility gone. No more cancer scares for me. From now on I’m eating, drinking and smoking what I want when I want. I knew all along the bastards were lying, and this proves it. Sex, bad for you? And not even from STDs or hooking, just plain old humpalot screwin? Sorry, no sale here, bub. The ol’ in-and-out is good for a person, I don’t care what my wife says. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/masturbation-and-sex-causes-prostate-cancer/483128.md?page=3)