What Is The Average Size Of A Penis? » Penis Cancer

Cancer of the Penis – Support and Life After

John Helios — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:11:08 +0000

Support and Life After

There need of support depends on many individual criteria from the type of treatment you received to the type of person you are. In the case of radiotherapy there are side effects that can cause problems with gaining and maintaining an erection. This can be tough and when paired with the possibility of not being able to pass urine as before can be mentally challenging. In most instances you will be informed of all possible side effects before treatment takes place.

It is vital to try and be honest about the emotions you may go through. It is a very tough time and sharing you feelings with others will help you cope. The type of emotions people feel are anger, guilt, fear and anxiety. This can lead to you feeling tearful (without knowing really why), restlessness and losing the ability to sleep. This will all be natural and is how the body reacts and tries to cope. The feeling of desperation and hopelessness will pass eventually. The only way is to talk through them however hard they maybe. It is important to remember there are many people in the same position and that there are support groups out there.

You do not have to cope with these feelings on your own; there are people available to help you. Some hospitals have their own emotional-support services with specially trained staff, and some of the nurses on the ward will have received training in counselling. You may feel more comfortable talking to a counsellor outside the hospital environment or to a religious leader.

Life after Penile Cancer

The most common question is will I ever be able to have sex again? The answer is in the majority of cases penile cancer will not affect your ability to have sex. There are some instances when though when the penis or part of the penis has been removed will affect sex life. This thought very distressing can be overcome through counselling and time.

Talking to your partner about your feelings and changes in your relationship is key to overcoming any emotional problems. This can be difficult and there is trained counselling and support out there. If there are problems then contact your doctor who can help or point your towards some place that can such as a counsellor or a nurse.

Cancer of the Penis – Staging, Grading and Treatment

John Helios — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:59:27 +0000

Cancer of the Penis Is Not the End

Cancer of the penis is a very serious problem and once diagnosed it has to evalutated and the first porcess is staging.

Staging

The stage of a cancer is a term used to describe its size and whether or not it has spread beyond its original site. Knowing the particular type and the stage of the cancer helps the doctors to decide on the best treatment for you.

Stage 1 The cancer only affects the skin covering the penis, the head of the penis (glans) or the foreskin.
Stage 2 The cancer has begun to spread into the shaft of the penis or into one of the lymph nodes in the groin.
Stage 3 The cancer has spread deep into the shaft of the penis or to many lymph nodes in the groin.
Stage 4 The cancer has spread to lymph nodes deep in the pelvis, or to other parts of the body.

If your cancer comes back after initial treatment, this is known as recurrent cancer.

Grading

Grading refers to the appearance of the cancer cells under the microscope and gives an idea of how quickly the cancer may develop. Low-grade means that the cancer cells look very like normal cells; they are usually slow-growing and are less likely to spread. In high-grade tumours, the cells look very abnormal, are likely to grow more quickly, and are more likely to spread.

Treatment

There are many types of treatment for penile cancer including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Surgery of the penis has now advanced to a stage now where it doesn’t mean the loss of the penis. It is also possible to now reconstruct a penis that has been operated on.

The type of treatment that you are given will depend on a number of things, including the position and size of the cancer, whether or not it has spread, the grade of the cancer, and your general health.

Men with cancer of the penis should be treated in a specialist cancer centre.

Surgery

Small, surface cancers that have not spread are treated by removing only the affected area. The cancer can be removed with conventional surgery, using laser or by freezing (cryotherapy). Cryotherapy is carried out with a cold probe, which freezes and kills the cancer cells.

If the cancer is affecting only the foreskin, it may be possible to treat it with circumcision alone.

All the above treatments can usually be given to you as an outpatient. They may be done under local or general anaesthetic, depending on individual circumstances.

Wide local excision

If the cancer has spread over a wider area, you will need to have an operation known as a wide local excision. This means removing the cancer with a border of healthy tissue around it. This border of healthy tissue is important as it reduces the risk of the cancer coming back in the future. The operation is done under general anaesthetic and will involve a short stay in hospital.

Removing the penis (penectomy)

This may be advised if the cancer is large and is covering a large area of the penis. Amputation may be partial (where part of the penis is removed) or total (removal of the whole penis). The operation most suitable for you depends on the position of the tumour. If the tumour is near the base of the penis, total amputation may be the only option.

The surgeon may also remove lymph nodes from the groin if there is evidence that cancer cells have spread to these nodes, or a possibility that they may have.

Reconstructive surgery

It is often possible to have a penis reconstructed after amputation. This requires another operation. The techniques that may be used include taking skin and muscle from your arm, and using this to make a new penis. Sometimes it is also possible for surgeons to reconnect some of the nerves, to provide sensation and the necessary blood flow to allow the reconstructed penis to become erect. This type of surgery is carried out by surgeons who have specialist experience, and you may need to travel to a specialist hospital to have the surgery done.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy treats cancer using high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells, while doing as little harm as possible to healthy cells. It can be used before or after surgery. Radiotherapy may also be given to treat symptoms, such as pain, if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, like the bones.

External radiotherapy is normally given as a series of short daily treatments in the hospital's radiotherapy department. High-energy x-rays are directed from a machine at the area of the cancer. The treatments are usually given from Monday to Friday, with a rest at the weekend. Each treatment takes 10–15 minutes. The number of treatments will depend on the type and size of the cancer, but the whole course of treatment for early cancer will usually last for up to six weeks. Your doctor will discuss the treatment and possible side effects with you.

Before each session of radiotherapy, the radiographer will position you carefully on the couch and make sure that you are comfortable. During your treatment you will be left alone in the room, but you will be able to talk to the radiographer who will be watching you carefully from the next room.

Radiotherapy is not painful, but you do have to lie still for a few minutes while your treatment is being given. The treatment will not make you radioactive and it is perfectly safe for you to be with other people, including children, after your treatment.

Radioactive implants

Radiotherapy can be given using a radioactive implant. This is also known as brachytherapy. Under a general anaesthetic, small radioactive wires are very carefully positioned in the affected area of the penis. The wires stay in place for about 4–5 days and are then removed. This method of treatment is usually used for smaller cancers on the end of the penis (the glans). While the implant is in place, you need to stay in an isolated room in the hospital so that other people are not exposed unnecessarily to the radiation.

Side effects of radiotherapy

There are sometimes side effects from radiotherapy treatment to the penis. Towards the end of your treatment, the skin on your penis can become sore and may break down. Long-term, radiotherapy can cause thickening and stiffening of healthy tissues (fibrosis). In some men, this can result in narrowing of the tube that carries urine through the penis (the urethra) and so can cause difficulty in passing urine. If narrowing of the urethra does develop, it can usually be relieved by an operation to stretch (dilate) the area. This is done by passing a tube into the urethra and is performed under a general anaesthetic.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. It can be one drug or several drugs used together. It is not commonly used to treat cancer of the penis. Chemotherapy cream may sometimes be used to treat very small, early cancers that are confined to the foreskin and end of the penis (glans).

Chemotherapy may also be given as tablets, or by injection, into a vein for more advanced cancer. It may be given along with surgery or radiotherapy (or both).

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Cancer of the Penis – Facts, Signs, Symptoms and Diagnosis

John Helios — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:31:03 +0000

Cancer of the Penis

Cancer is a big worry for many people. It is estimated now that at least 300,000 people a year are now diagnosed with every year in theUK. The most common forms of cancer are breast, lung, colon and prostate cancer. Cancer of the penis is much rarer.

In Britain around 400 men a year are diagnosed with cancer of the penis and it mostly affects men who are 60 of age or older. It is more common in South East Asia and Africa.

Causes

The research into penis cancer is not very advanced and not much is known about it. Cancer of the penis is believed to be related to general hygiene and is found to be less common in men who have been circumcised. The reason being that men who haven’t had their foreskin removed will find it much harder to pull back their foreskin to clean thoroughly underneath. The human papilloma virus human (HPV) that causes penile warts also increases the risk of cancer of the penis.

Cancer of the penis is not hereditary and so other members of the family are not likely to develop it. Cancer of the penis is not contagious either.

It is vital to keep a check on penis health because some skin conditions can develop into cancer if left unchecked and untreated. Please check for white patches, red scaly patches and red moist patches of skin on your penis.

Signs and symptoms

The first signs penile cancer is most likely to be changes in the colour and thickness of the skin of the penis. This may then lead to symptoms including growth or sores on the penis which will be most likely around the head the penis or on the shaft. This may lead to discharge or bleeding. Most penile cancers are painless.

It is vital as with most cancers to have an early diagnosis and therefore gain treatment quickly to bring about a positive outcome. Cancers can sometimes appear as flat growths that are blue-brownish in colour, or as a red rash, or small crusty bumps. It is vital to pull back the foreskin regularly to check because often it is the only time these symptoms are visible.

At this point that we must say that other illnesses than cancer can bring about these conditions however if you have any of these symptoms please visit you doctor or health specialist straight away.

Diagnosis

If you go to your doctor with any suspicious symptoms your doctor will examine you then if feel it is prudent will refer you to a hospital specialist for advice and treatment.

The specialist will examine the whole of the penis and the lymph nodes in your groin. If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes they may be enlarged. To make a firm diagnosis, the doctor will take a sample of tissue (a biopsy) from any sore or abnormal areas on the penis. This will usually be done under a local anaesthetic so that the area is numb. The biopsies will be examined under a microscope.

If the biopsy comes back positive for cancer then to assess the seriousness most doctors will do more test to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread into the body.

Cancer is spread through either the blood of through the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is part of he body’s defence against infection and disease. It works as a network of lymph glands linked by fine ducts containing lymph fluid. Tests are done to see how best to treat a patient.

Other tests include:-

Chest x-ray A chest x-ray is usually done to check whether or not the cancer has spread to the lungs.

CT (computerised tomography) scan A CT scan is a specialised type of x-ray. A series of pictures is taken and fed into a computer to build up a detailed picture of the inside of the body. The scan can show whether or not the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. It is painless and takes 10–30 minutes.

Lymph node biopsy If you have any enlarged lymph nodes in the groin, your doctor may put a needle into the node to get a sample of cells. This is to see whether or not the enlargement is due to cancer. Enlarged lymph nodes are often due to infection and not cancer, so your doctor may also give you a course of antibiotics to see whether or not the swollen nodes shrink.

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