Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Prevent Prostate Cancer: Masturbate




The scene above is from Seinfeld. The episode is called "The Contest." The phrases "master of my domain" and "king of the castle" are in this episode. Check it out above to see the beginning of the episode. What does this have to do with preventing prostate cancer? Well, I'll let the story below explain itself:
Men who frequently masturbate appear to have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, Australian researchers reported. Researchers from the Cancer Council of Victoria found that men who masturbated more than five times each week were one-third less likely to develop the cancer.

Researchers told the BBC last week that the prostate produces one of the fluids involved in ejaculation and that frequent masturbation appears to flush out carcinogens. Sexual intercourse may not have the same effect because it increases the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, which could raise the risk of cancer.
Uh, yeah. Can you see me giving this advice to my patients? However, I can see some people bringing me this story this very afternoon and asking me about it. Usually for research studies, I say that I need to see more studies done. But, in this case, I think I'll pass on that. What do you think?

Update: This afternoon, US News & World Report is now questioning this entire study and story - even questioning the FoxNews.com quote from above. It really doesn't matter to me. It's kind of a funny story. But, I guess it shows that even the masturbation deniers are out there! hehe

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You may be in for some awkward patient conversations, doc. :)

rlbates said...

Dr Joselyn Elders (retired Surgeon General) would approve.

Kb said...

Would there be a benefit for women?

Travis Cody said...

Could this question become part of patient histories?

LOL!