I felt a sharp pain and spotted a cold sore-like spot on my penis – months later it was amputated
SHAUN EVANS noticed a nagging pain in his pelvic area.
Months later he was told to prepare himself for amputation.
As his discomfort grew worse he spotted bleeding in the shower and discovered a small, coldsore-like spot at the base of his penis.
Alarmed, he sought help — and in September 2022, months after his first symptoms, the former West Midlands police staffer was diagnosed with penile cancer.
What follows is enough to make any man shudder.
But Shaun, 56, is bravely sharing his experience with Sun Health in a bid to help other men avoid suffering his fate.
“I wish I’d gone to the doctors when I had a vague feeling of discomfort and I wish I’d made more of a fuss,” he says.
“I’m one of the lucky ones, though. I’m still here.”
While “very rare”, the NHS says there are around 760 cases of penile cancer in the UK each year.
Yet that number is up 28 per cent on cases in the 1990s — and Cancer Research UK predicts the figure will hit 1,100 a year by 2040.
Survival rates are high, with 68 per cent of men surviving for at least ten years after their diagnosis.
But the treatment — especially surgery — can be devastating.
Shaun says: “I’m a fastidious bather, but one day when I was washing, I started feeling discomfort in my penis.
“The most I can liken it to is a stitch when you go running.”
Over the course of the next few days, in June 2022, Shaun went from being uncomfortable to experiencing pain when he was sitting down.
“Over time it got more tender,” he explains.
“I had a heart attack in the April, and I was doing cardiac physiotherapy rehab.
‘I felt burning sensation’
“I went from being able to do all the exercises like the rower and bike, to feeling like my penis was affecting how much I could do physically.”
Things went from bad to worse when Shaun noticed he was bleeding from his foreskin while in the shower.
“I couldn’t get comfortable afterwards and when I explored a little more, I found something that resembled a coldsore on the base of my penis,” he says.
“I had no idea what it was but I did the typical man thing of hoping it would just go away as quickly as it had appeared.”
The next day, at his final physio session, Shaun explained what was going on — telling the physiotherapist the pain was stopping him from doing his exercises properly.
The team suggested he go to an STI clinic and despite the fact he hadn’t been sexually active for years, Shaun did as he was told.
Early symptoms, such as pain, discharge or a lump or sore, can appear similar to a sexually transmitted infection like herpes or syphilis.
He says: “The nurse was dumbfounded when she saw what was going on down below.
“She explained to me that STIs can be dormant for years and then be activated but it just didn’t ring true to me.”
Shaun was referred to see a specialist urologist but by August, he says he was “in a lot of pain”.
He adds: “I’d gone from walking five miles a night to shuffling when I walked and I wasn’t able to find comfort unless I was lying down.
“I was starting to get a burning sensation when I urinated and the whole area was becoming inflamed.”
At an appointment with a urologist at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton in September 2022, Shaun was left in agony as the doctor examined him.
He was referred to another specialist at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield — but before his appointment, Shaun noticed an unusual discharge. “I had to keep a cold compress on it to try and reduce the pain and mop myself up,” he says.
“I was really starting to worry so I did what everyone does and went on to Google.
“I started to worry it was cancer because of the things I was reading.
“Meanwhile, the cold sore was getting more angry and expanding and the discharge was getting nastier.”
In September, Shaun received a call from his urological nurse who delivered the blow that it was penile cancer.
“She said it matter-of-factly, like she was reading it from a computer screen. It was like I should have known already.
“I wasn’t totally shocked but the next day is when it really started to sink in. It felt surreal.” Shaun was told doctors would start by circumcising him, in the hope it would help treat the cancer.
But before he could have the procedure, things started to get even worse.
“My penis started to swell and the base got really thick,” he says.
‘I knew it needed to be amputated’
“It was so inflamed and I was bed bound. It was just so sore.”
In October Shaun was forced to call an ambulance, feeling like he could no longer stand up.
I had no idea what it was but I did the typical man thing of hoping it would just go away as quickly as it had appeared
Paramedics warned him that he could be suffering sepsis, triggered by his cancerous sore.
“At this point my penis looked like a Doctor Who special effect,” says Shaun.
“It was mahogany in colour and if I pressed it, the skin just remained indented for ages.”
He was discharged and told to return for a scan the following day. It was while he was in the car en route, as his cousin drove him to the hospital, that Shaun experienced a sensation of feeling wet.
Shaun was admitted to Heartlands Hospital for ten days while medics drained the abscess.
“I was told as soon as I was able, I’d have surgery,” Shaun recalls.
“They couldn’t say what that would mean for my penis but by then, it was totally unrecognisable.
‘They served sausages for lunch and I laughed’
“I knew it needed to be amputated — I just had a strong feeling and it looked so bad I couldn’t imagine how it could be fixed.
“It felt like it would be a blessed relief if it was because I was in so much pain.”
On December 23, 2022, Shaun had surgery.
“My surgeon said she would have to remove my penis completely and while I felt winded, I was so poorly I couldn’t even cry,” says Shaun.
“I remember her holding my hand and telling me she would save as much as she could and do her best.
“Thankfully, she said she could save what was inside, all my plumbing and pipes but it was still scary.
‘They served sausages for lunch’
“It was a five-hour surgery and while I didn’t feel any emotions or anything for the first day and half after surgery, after that I started to feel grateful for surviving.
“It was then that the gallows humour kicked in.
“I remember they served me sausages for lunch and I had a real laugh to myself about it and asked if they were taking the micky.
“The staff and the patients in the ward all found it really funny.”
The good news was that Shaun’s surgeon was able to remove all the cancerous tissue.
But in the months after his op, strange side effects began to set in.
“I started to suffer from phantom sensations,” he says.
“I’d read about people who have their leg amputated suddenly feeling an itch in their ankle.
“But in the mornings I’d get the sensation a lot of men get in the mornings of having an erection only I knew I didn’t have a penis. It was a ‘stirring’ sensation.”
Men tend to be rubbish at taking care of their health in general
Shaun will be given the opportunity to undergo reconstruction surgery, but doctors have told him he has to wait until he’s cancer-free for five years.
“While I can’t right now, I still have the plumbing to be able to have children if it happens one day,” he adds.
“I know my story might sound unusual and while penile cancer is rare, two men a day in the UK are diagnosed with it.
“Men tend to be rubbish at taking care of their health in general, especially if it’s anything to do with plumbing or sexual things, but it’s so important.
“The survival rate is good for penile cancer but it does still kill.
“I’d implore anyone — man or woman — who has any type of pain that might be embarrassing, please go and speak to someone. Your life could depend on it.”
Look out for lumps, sores and changes to colour of skin
PENILE cancer is rare and most times the symptoms will be a sign of something else.
It is most likely after the age of 50, and about two-thirds of cases are triggered by infection with the HPV virus, which can be caught from sex.
However, HPV is extremely common and the vast majority of people who carry it will not develop penile cancer.
Key symptoms that something is wrong include:
- A lump or sore that does not heal on its own
- A rash
- Bleeding or a smelly discharge
- Difficulty pulling back the foreskin, or a change in the colour of the skin.
Patients may also experience more typical cancer symptoms such as tiredness, stomach pain and weight loss.
Doctors will likely do a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and then further tests and scans to decide how to treat it.
Treatment may involve surgery to remove the growth, the use of strong creams, laser treatment, freezing, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
Operations to remove part or all of the penis are usually a last-resort treatment for advanced cases.
There are around 760 cases and 150 deaths each year in the UK from penile cancer.
The best ways to reduce the risk of penile cancer are to use condoms during vaginal, anal or oral sex, avoid smoking cigarettes, and get the HPV vaccine if you are eligible.
See your GP if you are worried.