Penile Cancer

I think the service that I received from the consultant I can’t name has been exceptionally good. I’ve been very pleased with him, he’s asked me if I wanted to go back to my own hospital because of the travelling, I’ve said, ‘No, I am totally happy travelling here to see you because I know that I’m in the right hands.’

Is there any other ways which you feel the service which you received could be improved?

No to be honest. I mean, we know the National Health Service is very stretched but I couldn’t fault it at all. And I’d recommend it to anybody. I do feel that the NHS gets a lot of bad press but I can only speak highly of it.
 

My only comments would be that the GP, I feel to some extent, let me and himself down by not being able to recognise it in the first place and therefore it’s not the actual people dealing with it that really need further education but the colleges and medical studies profession that need to bring it more to the fore. There needs to be more general awareness you know, many of the other forms of cancer now, particularly breast cancer for instance, where there’s a screening process taking place on a regular basis, I don’t know what can be done about this but one would think that if you went to the doctor with it where it’s plainly visible to the naked eye, that it ought to be recognised and it obviously isn’t – I’m not condemning my doctor in any shape or form because you know, he obviously did not know and I think that that’s something that needs addressing at the source.

All I would say is on the breaking the news, don’t treat it so matter of fact. It’s sort of, it is a massive deal for a bloke to sort of hear they’ve got something like this, for anybody, with any cancers, but it just seemed to be a bit severely dealt with, it wasn’t sort of, because from where my diagnosis came from it was basically from a VD Clinic if you like and then I had a bit of surgery and then you’re told ‘look it wasn’t a wart, it’s cancer’ and this guy was saying ‘it’s. it’s a rare cancer, you should be alright, there shouldn’t be any problems’ but it would be nice to have some, somebody that you could talk to that knew something more about it because this guy said at the time like, you know ‘I’ve never seen one before and I’ve been doing this job for years’ so he has got no experience in this field so, perhaps a little bit more education for these urologists and stuff that are out there passing on the bad news.

Do you have any advice for health professionals who are treating men who’ve been diagnosed with penile cancer?

I don’t think I’m in a position to give them any advice. My only my only criticism from my experiences was that I, like I said earlier, I suspected that they knew that I had penile cancer before they actually told me. Again, whether that would have altered anything I don’t know. I don’t know. They maybe did it for the best of intentions. But the fact remains that it was me. And I wanted to know. I wanted to know what it was. And I suspect that they knew for a while before I went to the other hospital to have it pronounced on me that this was happening. I’m not suggesting that it would have been…. apt to get it in a letter or anything like that. But I think if there was any advice that I could give the General Practitioner or whoever, if you know in your own mind that it’s penile cancer, tell them. Tell them as soon as you possibly can. It’s not something that they, I don’t think it would… it wouldn’t have worsened my situation. It wouldn’t have made my… it wouldn’t have made my situation any worse or any better. I don’t know. I doubt it. But at least I would have known a little bit earlier. And my trip over to the other hospital… I would have known that I had penile cancer. And I would probably have known that it was going to be removed. You’re never going to get away from the shock that you’re going to give to somebody when you’re given that news. That’s not possible. But I think it does help, the sooner you tell them, the better. And I like I say I think they probably knew a while before they told me. But I have nothing but admiration for anybody who’s been… who’s treat me. The General Practitioners, my surgeons, my… every single one of them. So I’m saying it a little bit tongue in cheek. I don’t think I’m in a position to give anybody of that standing any advice. But if there was then just to let them know sooner rather than later.
 

Apart, apart from perhaps a bit of a slower intro into it would have been better instead of just saying, you know, he were totally brutal the way I were told. They reckon it’s the best way of telling you. So, you don’t know. You know, it was a shock. I mean I were only there in my mind to be circumcised and to be told all at once that ‘you’ve got cancer’ you know it were like being hit with a shovel at the time.

Yes to be a bit more straightforward with the person. To inform… be more informative. I think I didn’t get a lot of information as to what was going to happen or what the results was going to be or anything like that. I think information would be very helpful, yes.

I think it’s to help people talk about it. The ones I’ve had have all been very open and very helpful and willing to talk and also prompting, prompting me to talk. I can see in some situations, if I hadn’t been so open, perhaps the conversations would have been harder and it would have been harder for people to cope with. And also perhaps, yeah as I say, I could have done with a little, little more support about, and advance, about the practical implications of what could possibly, what could possibly go wrong. Or perhaps not go wrong, but what the what the implications might be.

Patsy' It would be nice to know that the consultant or the surgeon would have a proper procedure for this. You know did determine what degree of cancer it is, how they will proceed and what further protection they’ll take. Like with me with the breast cancer there was a procedure. Lumpectomy, glands under that... under the arm to test, and the tablets after. Which was a procedure they took with most people, unless it was a full mastectomy, didn’t they? But you did have a choice anyway. And this is what… there should be a procedure for this kind of matter as well. Once they get to know all the ins and outs. You know I know it’s probably a new… a rarity at the moment. But once they get it all together make it a procedure, like they do with breast cancer. They know exactly what they’re going to do… with the.. you know take the lymph nodes out anyway just in case.