A personal trainer was diagnosed with penile cancer after mistaking a lump on his penis for an irritation.
Joe Merrall, 39, of Auckland, New Zealand, noticed the pea-sized bump last summer, which he attributed to skin irritation on his genitals rubbing against his pants.
He was diagnosed with penile cancer and doctors had to cut off his entire glans and part of the shaft.
He can still pee despite the stream being “all over the show” and it has been said he can still have sex.
Joe Merrall, 39, from Auckland, New Zealand, said doctors had to cut off the entire glans and most of the shaft due to penile cancer. It started as a pea-sized piece he saw in August. However, it then spread and engulfed the entire head and part of the shaft
Mr Merrall is now three weeks post-op. He says the new penis is “strange” and that peeing is “all about the show”. But the doctors told him he could have sex again
Doctors initially thought it was a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and prescribed ice cream. But after the lump engulfed the entire head of the penis and spread along the shaft, scans showed it was cancerous.
Penile cancer is rare in North America and Europe, with less than one in 100,000 men diagnosed with the disease each year. About 2,000 cases are detected each year in the US, while nearly 700 cases are detected each year in the UK.
However, this means that warning signs – including small, crusty bumps and a foul-smelling discharge – can be missed by medical professionals. Last month, a British soldier said he had to have half of his penis removed after doctors misdiagnosed the cancer three times.
If the cancer is caught early and is only on the foreskin, circumcision can treat it.
But when it spreads under the skin of the penis, doctors must remove it through a penectomy – a medical term for the surgical removal of part or all of the penis.
Mr Merrall had penile surgery at Auckland’s North Shore Hospital three weeks ago and is now adjusting to his new member.
Soldier (45) lost HALF his penis after doctors misdiagnosed cancer
Gavin Brooks (45), from Crewe in Cheshire, has now been warned that he may only have a year to live.
He described it as “weird”, especially “how they seeded it”, adding that his stream of urine was “all over the show”.
He said: ‘I’m still adjusting but they might clean it up eventually.
“I’ll be able to have sex again, but it’s quite tender.”
He added: “The operation has changed her appearance significantly.
“After that, I thought no one would touch me with a ten-foot pole [the diagnosis] Because they would think I’m a freak
“I told a few exes and partners when I opened up to them that I felt ‘less like a man.’
“They said it was brave to talk about it and that I would still go there. I thought, “This is fantastic.”
He now has to undergo a CT scan to find out if the cancer has spread.
When he was first diagnosed with penile cancer, he said: “I experienced every emotion known to man when I was diagnosed.
“Two days before Christmas I first found out that it was the worst timing and that it sent me into a spiral.
“I bottled everything up, I didn’t even want to go to the gym, I was just like, ‘What is this?
He added: “I told my younger brother when I was with him at the time and we started joking around. I laughed a little but then lay down on my bed and cried.
“For two to three weeks I went through this cycle of self-pity and getting drunk to the point of drunkenness. One day I decided I didn’t like acting like that and stopped.”
The image above was posted by urologists to illustrate the different stages of penile cancer. It shows stage Ta (tip of the penis), the earliest point at which cancer cells are found on the skin of the penis, through stage T3, where a tumor has grown into the penis and into the urethra – which drains urine and semen from the penis from the body. It also shows the T4 stage where the tumor has spread to other organs. The different positions for each tumor have been shown to effectively illustrate each stage
Concerns about Mr Merrall’s penis began in August when he noticed a pea-sized lump on his head.
He attributed it to irritation when his penis rubbed against his pants, but booked to have it checked out by a doctor the following month.
Medical specialists took a cotton swab and gave him an antifungal cream — and told him to schedule a follow-up appointment if the cream didn’t clear up what was suspected to be thrush or an STI.
Over the next few weeks, the lump then “entangled” the glans, covered the urethra and even spread along the shaft.
It has mr. Merrall was left in severe pain and struggling to urinate.
He was referred to a specialist in October who – after further tests – diagnosed him with penile cancer.
Mr Merrall said: “The first time she went to the doctor she looked at it and gave me some cream. She took a swab and said to come back if it didn’t go away and she’d give me referred to a specialist.
“I thought it was skin irritation from my penis rubbing against my pants, not an STD.”
He did not expect the diagnosis of penile cancer.
Mr Merrall added: “I saw the specialist in October but I did the classic boy thing – I kept rescheduling and rescheduling my appointment.
“They got it right soon enough.”
Mr. Merrall previously suffered from a tight foreskin, a condition called phimosis.
Previous studies have shown that it increases the risk of penile cancer.
Mr. Merrall tells his story to encourage other men to see a doctor if they notice suspicious lumps.
He said: “I decided to share my diagnosis because I thought if I could share it and help one or two people, then I had done something good.”
“I want to tell people to check themselves. Do you know normal and everything that is not normal? So go to the doctor and get yourself examined. Prevention is better than cure.’
Joe also runs a program called Move 4 Mental Health to help people improve their mental health through exercise.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
