After having four inches of his manhood removed in a drastic surgery to save his life, Steven Hamill feared he would never fulfil his dream of being a father.
The 33-year-old food industry worker was diagnosed with penile cancer in April 2019, after suffering a raft of distressing symptoms.
Steven first visited his GP in March that year complaining of pain and swelling in his genitals, and was diagnosed with balanitis – inflammation of the head of the penis that can be caused by infection or irritation.
He was sent home with a topical cream.
But after developing worsening, intense pain coupled with an extremely unpleasant odour, Steven was rushed to A&E after fainting and waking in a pool of his own blood.
There, doctors gave him the devastating diagnosis: penile cancer, advanced enough to require a partial amputation.
Steven was terrified. 'Every time I went to bed I would think, 'is this the night I'm going to die? Will I see next week? Should I make plans for next week?',' he said.
Today, however, Steven is cancer-free, and the proud dad of a four-year-old boy. And despite the taboo nature of his cancer, he has taken the brave step to go public – in a bid to raise awareness of the symptoms and encourage men not to delay seeking help.
'I was really lucky that even after I had four inches removed it left me with around four inches,' Steven says. 'So it's still fully functional and working.'
Around 700 men are diagnosed with penile cancer in Britain each year – the disease most commonly occurs in men over the age of 50.
A significant proportion of cases are thought to be preventable. Cancer Research UK estimates more than 60 per cent are linked to known risk factors, including infection with certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), smoking, and chronic inflammatory skin conditions such as lichen sclerosus.
The disease is notoriously hard to spot because symptoms can easily be mistaken for less serious problems, which men are often too embarrassed to talk about.
As a result, late diagnosis is increasingly common, with many men ignoring early warning signs – which can, as in Steven's case, result in amputation.
Of men diagnosed early, however, more than 90 per cent survive at least five years after diagnosis.
Major risk factors include smoking, not being circumcised, a weakened immune system and older age.
Symptoms include a growth, lump or sore that does not heal within four weeks, a rash, bleeding, abnormal discharge, as well as unexplained weight loss, extreme fatigue and abdominal pain.
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