Penile cancer, or cancer of the penis is a rare condition which affect hundreds of men each year in particualrly those over sixty.
NHS Choices said symptoms of penile cancer include a growth or sore on the penis which doesn't heal and bleeding from the penis or the foreskin.
A smelly discharge, thickening of the skin of the penis or the foreskin which makes it difficult to pull back the foreskin, a change in the colour of the penis or even a rash developing are also symptoms of the condition.
Experts believe men who carry the human papilloma virus (HPV) have an increased risk of developing penile cancer, which is the virus that causes genital warts.
Studies have found that almost five out of ten men - 47 per cent - with penile cancer also have an HPV infection.
A recent study has revealed men suffering with penile cancer want new research about their condition to explore their quality of life up to and beyond treatment.
They hope allowing this will help them to receive better support along their journey, a new study from Leeds Beckett University has shown.
The aim of the study, led by Dr Peter Branney, senior lecturer in social psychology at Leeds Beckett, and published in the latest edition of International Journal of Urological Nursing, was to identify how a diagnosis affects the quality of life.
Dr Branney said: "Penile cancer is rare and so it is difficult to include men with penile cancer in research about their condition.
"Survival for penile cancer is high but treatment can have a long-term detrimental effect on urological function and quality of life."
"The standard treatment for penile cancer is surgical excision of the primary tumour, which means that sexual and urinary functioning can be impaired.
"There is evidence of reduced quality of life in up to 40 per cent of patients; whilst one clinic has found signs of psychiatric morbidity and post-traumatic stress in almost half of a sample of patients.
Ten men with experience of the diagnosis and treatment of penile cancer took part in the study.
Dr Branney said: "Participants spoke of feeling a helpless inevitability about what was to come, fearing the loss of their penis and conscious of their mortality.
"Early physical signs and, particularly, the moment of ‘diagnosis, led to a process of problem-focused and systematic information seeking: an attempt to regain control when faced with their mortality."
Treatment for penile cancer usually varies, depending on the size of the affected area and the rate at which the cancer has spread.
Experts have said it is important for people suffering with any of the symptoms to see their GP as soon as possible.
To find out more about Penile Cancer please visit NHS UK
0 comments: