Amongst the general American male population prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer, trailing only skin cancer, which is the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease in both males and females. When looking at the actual mortality rates again prostate cancer comes in second, with death from lung cancer being most common for men.

Generally prostate cancer is a disease that affects the older segment of the male population, with the majority of cases being diagnosed in men who have already celebrated their 65^th birthday. The incidence of prostate cancer being found in young men in their twenties is extremely rare. In fact there are only about twenty cases of the disease reported in men under the age of forty annually, and it is unusual that a young man in his second decade is amongst them.

This is not to say however that a young man should not give some thought to his overall prostate health. Many studies have linked the development of prostate cancer later in life to a long standing habit amongst men to follow a very poor dietary regime, which has been proven to be a risk factor for developing prostate cancer along with genetic and environmental factors.

Two separate studies done into the effects of masturbation in ones twenties on the risk of developing prostate cancer interestingly produced completely opposing results. One of the studies suggested that regular masturbation by men in the teens and twenties actually reduced the risk that prostate cancer would develop late in life while the other suggested that such a practice was actually harmful in relation to prostate cancer. Since the results were so very different there is no consensus amongst the medical community if masturbation is even a factor in prostate cancer development at all.

In conclusion it seems that a young man in his twenties has no need to fear that he will develop prostate cancer at that particular stage of his life. One cancer of the reproductive organs that he should be more worried about is testicular cancer, as it is most commonly found in males between the ages of fifteen and forty but is most prevalent in those who are in their mid twenties.

If diagnosed before it has metastasized, or spread, testicular cancer is almost 100% curable so it is actually as important for a young man to check regularly for the appearance of new lumps in his testes as it is for a woman to examine her breasts for masses.