Thinking of getting the ‘ol snip-snip? Well, beware: you might have a 10% greater chance of prostate cancer.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology examined the health records of over 50,000 men from 1986 to 2010, making it the largest study on the link between prostate cancer and sterilization. They found a 10% greater chance of developing prostate cancer amongst men who had a vasectomy compared with those who did not. They also found a greater risk of developing an aggressive form of the cancer in people who had a vasectomy before the age of 38.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with one in eight developing the disease in the rich world. Most of the time the cancer develops slowly, but it does come with serious side effects, never mind the side effects of treatment.
Bottom line: you need to decide what’s worse, the chance of knocking someone up, or the chance of developing cancer.
