Penile Cancer

So how long after the operation was it before you saw the results of the surgery?

Going back to being a coward I daren’t look. I could see the tubes coming from my pyjamas and a bag that I knew I’d got a catheter in. But I didn’t look anything until a nurse come along said why hadn’t I had a shower that morning or a bath. I said, ‘Well I didn’t know whether... what... whether I was allowed to or not or…’. She said, ‘Oh yes you need... need a shower’. With which she undone some bandages that was holding the catheter against my body. Took them away, she said, ‘You’re alright now. You can go into the shower’. I said, ‘Right, fair enough’. And I went in and had the shower and but then I looked down [slight chuckle] and see what’s happened and… that was about it, you know. Apart from, I hadn’t looked previously to see what had been going on.
 

So and then I finished up going to the hospital in [city]. And that’s where I had my operation and what have you. And err which they did look after me, which I’ve got to say. There was no pain. I had my operation and I’ve had no pain after it, which… I thought there would be. But err...and then I thought there might be some treatment after it' tablets or medicine or something or needles err… but I didn’t get any... anything. But no pain there. And they let me go in 3 days.

So can you just describe the operation on your lymph nodes? How was that compared to the original one?

I came back with …I had a skin graft on the... on the penis obviously, they have to rebuild as much as they can. So you... you couldn’t move for... five days I think it was. That was unpleasant. But the lymph nodes I had got seven staples each side of my stomach and they allowed me to come out the following day. And I’d gone by Tube and it wasn’t very pleasant going through the Tube at the rush hour with a bag in front of me [laughs]… guarding myself as much as I could. But no that was easy com...in comparison.

Was it painful?

No... not... it was sore but not desperately painful.

And has that operation impacted in your life in anyway?

None at all. None at all. I went to the local nurse in the health centre, took the staples out and I think that was the last time I even thought about it until today. It was all that easy. I didn’t find the staples everybody said, ‘Oh they’re painful when they come out’. No I didn’t find any problems at all.
 

Were you in any pain after the operation?

Not, not vastly, I’d just say discomfort. They gave me the morphine and a little a little button on a lead, that if I wanted to increase the… But I hardly needed that at all. I think after about three days I had even dispensed with the painkillers because I’m not much of a one for the painkillers. And that was only paracetamol anyway, but they were available. So…
 

Anyway I went in on the 16th. I had the operation and was out I was... oh no that’s right I was in for about eight days because the worry is about getting infection after the operation. I think this is probably a standard process. They thought I was clear. I came I came home for three days. The district nurse didn’t was got was very anxious about what, the redness I was developing, the soreness. So I went back to Accident and Emergency and they readmitted me straight away. So I was in for about another seven days after that. But again the treatment I had on the ward was excellent. The only delay was when I went in the second time it took ages to get the antibiotics and that was all to do with getting a prescription from a doctor which is always frustrating because that’s the only reason you’re back in. You know, you’re there and of course what you want is intravenous antibiotic. But it took I must have it took nearly half a day to get started on that. So that was that was kind of like frustrating.

But the general treatment on the ward on both occasions, with both the initial and the follow-up, was excellent.