Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting men, and doctors regularly stress how important it is to notice early changes rather than brushing them off. Alongside familiar advice about checkups and healthy habits, one study highlighted a surprisingly specific detail that gets talked about far less, how often men ejaculate and what that may mean for long term risk.
The American Cancer Society estimates that about one in eight men will develop prostate cancer at some point in life. Most cases are diagnosed after age 65, and it remains one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in men, behind lung cancer. Those numbers can sound intimidating, but they also underline why awareness matters, especially when symptoms are easy to ignore or explain away as something else.
According to the Mayo Clinic, early signs can include blood in urine, which may look pink, red, or brown, as well as blood in semen. Some men notice they need to urinate more often, have trouble starting, or find themselves waking up repeatedly during the night to go. When prostate cancer is more advanced, the same clinic warns symptoms may shift toward issues like accidental urine leakage, back pain, bone pain, erectile dysfunction, unusual fatigue, unintentional weight loss, or weakness in the arms or legs. None of these automatically means cancer, but they are good reasons to speak with a doctor instead of waiting it out.
So where does ejaculation come in. The article points to research suggesting that more frequent ejaculation is linked with reduced odds of developing the disease. One figure that stands out is 21 orgasms per month, which the study associates with about a 20 percent lower risk.
The findings came from Harvard University researchers who analyzed data from 31,925 men who completed questionnaires about ejaculation frequency between 1992 and 2010. The study was published in European Urology in 2016, and the researchers examined whether ejaculation throughout adulthood correlated with later prostate cancer diagnoses. Their conclusion was that men reporting higher ejaculation frequency during adulthood were less likely to be diagnosed later, with the strongest link seen for lower risk forms of the disease.
What do you make of the idea that everyday habits like this could play a role in long term prostate health. Share your thoughts in the comments.
