Testosterone and Prostate Cancer: Separating Fear From Evidence

Few topics in men’s health generate as much fear as testosterone therapy.

Men are routinely told the same thing:
“If you take testosterone, you’ll get prostate cancer.”

According to Dr. Stephen Petteruti, that belief is one of the most persistent and misleading myths in modern medicine.

In this podcast, Dr. Petteruti dismantles the narrative that testosterone causes prostate cancer and explains why the fear persists despite decades of research failing to support it.

Where the Fear Came From

The idea that testosterone fuels prostate cancer traces back to a single study from the 1960s. That study won a Nobel Prize and shaped generations of medical teaching.

The problem is that it was deeply flawed.

Dr. Petteruti explains how later researchers revisited the original data and found that its conclusions were overstated, misapplied, and misunderstood. The study examined men with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer — not healthy men considering testosterone replacement.

Yet its conclusions were generalized to all men.

That leap shaped policy, practice, and fear for more than half a century.

What the Evidence Actually Shows

Modern studies tell a very different story.

Large trials examining testosterone therapy have not demonstrated an increased risk of prostate cancer or prostate enlargement. Some data even suggest that men with low testosterone have higher prostate cancer rates.

Dr. Petteruti explains why this makes biological sense.

Testosterone supports muscle, bone, brain function, metabolism, confidence, and immune health. It is not a toxin. It is a naturally occurring hormone that declines with age — often decades before men realize what they are losing.

The Prostate Is Not a Testosterone Sponge

One of the most misunderstood concepts in men’s health is how testosterone interacts with the prostate.

Dr. Petteruti explains the saturation model: the prostate can only absorb a limited amount of testosterone. Once that threshold is reached, higher blood levels do not continue to stimulate prostate growth or cancer activity.

This explains why restoring testosterone to physiologic levels improves health without endlessly “feeding” the prostate.

It also explains why PSA levels often rise gradually with age regardless of testosterone use — and why that rise should not automatically trigger fear or biopsy.

Why Testosterone Matters for Longevity

The conversation expands beyond cancer.

Low testosterone correlates with:
• Loss of muscle and strength
• Fat gain and insulin resistance
• Depression and cognitive decline
• Increased cardiovascular risk
• Reduced sexual function and vitality

Dr. Petteruti frames testosterone therapy not as enhancement, but as restoration. Replacing what the body no longer produces is no different than replacing thyroid hormone or insulin when those systems fail.

The real risk, he argues, is allowing preventable decline to occur out of fear.

PSA, Testosterone, and Rational Monitoring

Men are often told that an elevated PSA disqualifies them from testosterone therapy.

Dr. Petteruti challenges that directly.

PSA is an imperfect marker that correlates poorly with dangerous prostate cancer. Elevated PSA does not mean testosterone must be stopped, and it certainly does not justify biopsy in otherwise stable men.

Monitoring trends over time matters far more than reacting to a single number.

The Bigger Question: How Do You Want to Live?

Dr. Petteruti does not promise certainty. No one can.

What he offers instead is clarity.

Every path carries risk. Aging without testosterone carries predictable harm. Testosterone therapy carries theoretical risk that has not been borne out in evidence.

The real decision is not about cancer alone. It is about vitality, independence, strength, cognition, and quality of life.

This episode asks men to decide deliberately rather than reactively.

Watch the Full Podcast

The full discussion covers:
• Where the testosterone–prostate cancer myth came from
• What modern studies actually show
• Why low testosterone is not benign
• How PSA should be interpreted rationally
• The saturation theory explained clearly
• Why testosterone is foundational to aging well

If you have avoided testosterone therapy out of fear — or been warned away without evidence — this conversation matters.

👉 Watch the full podcast to hear Dr. Petteruti explain why testosterone does not deserve its reputation, and why preserving vitality should never be optional.

Fear shrinks lives.
Clarity expands them.