SHAUN EVANS noticed a nagging pain in his pelvic area. Months later he was told to prepare himself for amputation. As his discomfort grew worse he spotted bleeding in the shower and discovered a small, coldsore-like spot at the base of his penis.
Alarmed, he sought help — and in September 2022, months after his first symptoms, the former West Midlands police staffer was diagnosed with penile cancer . What follows is enough to make any man shudder. But Shaun, 56, is bravely sharing his experience with Sun Health in a bid to help other men avoid suffering his fate.
“I wish I’d gone to the doctors when I had a vague feeling of discomfort and I wish I’d made more of a fuss,” he says. “I’m one of the lucky ones, though. I’m still here.
” While “very rare”, the NHS says there are around 760 cases of penile cancer in the UK each year . Yet that number is up 28 per cent on cases in the 1990s — and Cancer Research UK predicts the figure will hit 1,100 a year by 2040. Survival rates are high, with 68 per cent of men surviving for at least ten years after their diagnosis.
But the treatment — especially surgery — can be devastating. Shaun says: “I’m a fastidious bather, but one day when I was washing, I started feeling discomfort in my penis. “The most I can liken it to is a stitch when you go running.
” Over the course of the next few days, in June 2022, Shaun went from being uncomfortable to experiencing pain when he was sitting down. “Over time it g.
