Father-of-two was forced to have his PENIS amputated after a ‘harmless rash’ turned out to be cancer
- Neil Walker developed discolouration on his genitals, which doctors dismissed
- After insisting on tests, he was diagnosed with penile cancer in September 2014
- He initially just needed the tip of his penis removed, until the cancer returned
- Mr Walker had his entire penis, and several lymph nodes, removed last March
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A father-of-two was forced to have his penis amputated after a ‘harmless rash’ turned out to be a rare form of cancer.
Neil Walker, 54, from Bristol, realised something was wrong when discolouration on his genitals was not fading. After being told it was nothing to worry about and prescribed a steroid cream by his GP, Mr Walker insisted on further tests.
He was finally diagnosed with penile cancer in September 2014 and underwent an operation to amputate the tip of his genitals. Yet, when the cancer returned just a few years later, he had to have the entire organ removed.
Due to the cancer spreading, lymph nodes in his groin also had to taken out. This left Mr Walker with a severely weak immune system that saw him on ‘death’s door’ while he battled sepsis four times in just one year.
Now recovered, Mr Walker, who urinates out of a ‘make-shift hole’ behind his testicles, said: ‘I have been left feeling completely de-masculinized and I know that if I had caught the cancer sooner, I’d still have my manhood.’
Father-of-two Neil Walker, 54, was forced to have his penis amputated after a ‘harmless rash’ turned out to be a rare form of cancer. He first realised something was wrong when discolouration on his genitals was not fading. Also pictured is his wife Amanda, 48
Speaking of his early symptoms, Mr Walker said: ‘I noticed a rash on the head of my penis and I was given steroid cream by doctors at first as no one thought it was anything too serious.
‘It wasn’t until I returned again a month later that I was referred to the hospital and was told it was penile cancer.
‘As soon as they told me I was shocked, because I thought it was just a rash but suddenly I was entering a battle with cancer.
‘It didn’t even click in my head that I’d need amputations and would eventually lose my penis.’
He was diagnosed with penile cancer in September 2014 and had an operation to amputate the tip of his genitals. Yet, when the cancer returned, he had to have the entire organ removed
Mr Walker (pictured when he was younger and a firefighter) claims if he had been diagnosed sooner he may still have his ‘manhood’. Instead, doctors dismissed his rash and prescribed him a steroid cream. He is speaking out to raise awareness of the symptoms of penile cancer
WHAT IS PENILE CANCER?
Penile cancer can develop anywhere on the penis but is most common on the tip or under the foreskin in uncircumcised men.
It is more common in men over 50 who smoke or are infected with HPV.
Penile cancer is rare and makes up less than one per cent of all new forms of the disease every year in the UK and US.
More than 90 per cent of men whose cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes are still alive five years after their diagnosis.
Symptoms include a growth or sore on the penis that does not heal within a month. This may look like a wart or ulcer and might be painless.
Bleeding from the penis, a foul smelling discharge, rash, difficulty drawing back the foreskin and discolouration are also signs of the disease.
Treatment depends how advanced the cancer is, as well as if it has spread and the patient’s overall health.
Surgery to remove part or all of the penis is the most common treatment. Chemo and radiotherapy may also be required.
Source: Cancer Research UK
Just three months after being diagnosed, Mr Walker underwent his first surgery to remove the tip of his penis. Doctors managed to re-create the head of his genitals by taking a skin graft from his leg.
Mr Walker said: ‘When I had the first amputation I wasn’t as sad because they managed to recreate the head of my penis with skin from my leg.’
Despite his optimism, tests revealed the cancer had entered the lymph nodes in his groin, forcing him to go under the knife again to have them removed.
Mr Walker, who is married to his wife Amanda, 48, said: ‘This left me with nothing to fight off infection from the waist down, so I began contracting sepsis four times a year and constantly being on death’s door.
‘Then, after thinking I was doing okay and completely on the mend, I noticed another rash on my penis in August 2017 and I knew the cancer had returned.
‘In this time, I also lost my eyesight in both eyes because of thrombolysis, which has caused complications with my further cancer treatment.
‘In March this year, after more biopsies, I had to have my entire penis amputated and I now urinate out of a make-shift hole behind my testicles.’
Due to his cancer spreading, Mr Walker also had to have the lymph nodes in his groin removed. This left him with a severely weak immune system and on ‘death’s door’ while be battled sepsis four times in just one year. He now urinates out of a ‘make-shift hole’ behind his testicles
Now he has overcome the ordeal, Mr Walker is speaking out to raise awareness of penile cancer symptoms.
Mr Walker, an ex-firefighter, said: ‘With something like this, it’s better to be safe than sorry and always get checked out.
‘I know it can be embarrassing to go to the doctor’s clinic and show them something so intimate, but it could be the difference between saving or losing your genitals.
‘If I had seen a specialist faster, there could have been a chance that I wouldn’t have lost my penis.
‘And although it makes me feel very embarrassed and less of a man, I hope that my story can stop someone else from going through what I have.’
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