Man, 55, has penis amputated after ‘bad bruise’ turns out to be cancer. He shares his story in a bid to prevent other men from suffering the same fate.

A man says he felt like a ‘strange’ man after having his penis amputated two days before Christmas due to a rare form of penile cancer.

Shaun Evans, 55, from Wolverhampton, said he initially thought it was a “bad bruise” on the organ but became much more concerned when he noticed blood and what looked like a cold sore at the base of his penis while showering.

He told his doctor, who was treating him after a heart attack earlier that year, and he was referred to a specialist.

Although Mr. Evans’ doctor suspected it was penile cancer, doctors had to perform a biopsy to be sure and make the diagnosis.

But the blood-thinning medication he needed after his heart attack meant that had to be delayed for months. While he waited, Mr Evans’ symptoms caused him so much pain that he couldn’t even walk.

It wasn’t until months after he first experienced symptoms that he was diagnosed: not only did he have penile cancer, but the best thing he could do was have his penis amputated.

Mr Evans underwent life-changing surgery just two days before Christmas 2022.

Now that he has learned to live without a penis and hopes to raise awareness of the condition, Mr Evans says he has come to terms with the amputation and is happy to be able to walk again and be free of pain.

While there is a possibility he could undergo penile reconstruction, he will have to wait, as doctors require patients to be cancer-free for five years before approving the surgery.

Mr Evans, who previously worked as a police support officer, said the period after the amputation was “the loneliest I’ve ever felt in my life”.

“It was just numbness. It can seriously affect the masculinity,” he said.

‘I went through all the emotions. I thought “I’m a freak”, “nobody’s going to want you”.

‘This is the new Shaun. People are going to accept you for who you are.’

Mr Evans has already had a tough year in 2022, losing his mother, Sheila, 86, in March and suffering a heart attack in April.

And in June of that year, just as he was starting to feel like his old self again, he felt discomfort in his groin.

He recalled: ‘I started to feel uncomfortable. There was a little pain down there. It looked like a nasty bruise.

‘In July I was taking a shower. I saw a little bit of watered down blood. It was coming from my penis.

‘I was a little shocked. I was alarmed.’

Then he noticed what looked like a cold sore at the base of his penis and told his cardiologist about the symptoms while he was in for a heart check-up.

He was sent to a walk-in center and examined, after which he was referred to a specialist.

Doctors thought he had penile cancer, but a biopsy was needed to confirm.

However, because Mr Evans is taking blood thinners for his heart attack, the procedure had to be postponed, as the drugs can increase the risk of dangerous blood loss.

With nothing confirmed yet, Mr Evans pushed the possible diagnosis aside.

However, his symptoms gradually worsened and eventually he was in so much pain that he called an ambulance.

Mr Evans said: ‘The swelling had turned into a big lump. It was horrible.

“I can just slide.”

He went for an ultrasound and was told he had an abscess in his penis, a collection of pus, and that he would need surgery to drain the pus.

Mr Evans was taken to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham and was prescribed antibiotics in October 2022.

But he too had to wait for the operation on the abscess because of the blood thinners.

Mr Evans eventually underwent surgery to drain the abscess in November 2022 and remained in hospital for three weeks.

Mr Evans spoke of the aftermath of the procedure: ‘It didn’t look like a part of my body anymore,’ he said.

Mr Evans’ long-awaited biopsy was performed at the same time as the abscess was drained and tragically, on December 15, 2022, he received the devastating news that he had penile cancer.

And to top it all off, doctors told him they would probably have to remove his penis.

“I knew it myself. I thought how the hell is this ever going to be normal again. I was obviously devastated,” he said.

Mr Evans recalls waking up in Heartlands Hospital on December 23, 2022, after his five-hour amputation.

“On Christmas Day the consultant came to see me and explained that she had to do it,” Mr. Evans recalled.

“She said, ‘I had to remove it. I think I have everything. I have managed to keep what is going on beneath the surface.'”

One of the life-changing changes Mr. Evans had gotten used to was that he could only urinate while sitting down. Doctors had adjusted the position of his urethra, the internal tube that carries urine out of the body.

“I go to the toilet like a lady,” he said.

Since the operation, Mr Evans has been independent again and has scans every three months to check he is still cancer-free.

He said, ‘I’m taking it day by day. It’s the little things, like being able to sit down.’

Mr Evans also said he hopes sharing his story will raise awareness of rare and aggressive penile cancer, as experts have revealed the number of cases is expected to rise.

Penile cancer is rare in the UK, with only 760 new cases diagnosed each year, according to Cancer Research UK.

The number of cases in the UK is predicted to rise to 1,100 per year by 2038-2040.

A lump or ulcer on your penis, a foul-smelling discharge, bleeding, a rash, or difficulty retracting your foreskin are all signs of cancer.