After receiving misdiagnoses, British soldier Gavin Brooks, 45, was diagnosed with penile cancer. The advanced stage of the disease forced doctors to amputate part of the limb to remove the tumor. Months later, they discovered the cancer had spread to other parts of the body and gave the patient a year to live.
“Had I been diagnosed earlier, I could have had a circumcision that would have avoided the rest of the operations and chemotherapy,” Gavin believes.
Wrong diagnosis
In an interview with the British newspaper Daily Mail, the Englishman said he turned to the doctor in 2021, after feeling a ring of skin around the foreskin – the fold that covers the glans of the penis – and noticing an injury to the tip. of the penis organ.
“The skin that connects the foreskin to the penis cracked, bled and hurt when I peed. I knew it wasn’t normal and that I needed to get checked out,” she recalls.
The first doctor diagnosed the lesion as a genital wart, but Gavin wasn’t convinced and sought other opinions. “I didn’t know how I could get a genital wart, as I’d been married for 20 years and only had one sexual partner at the time, so I didn’t think they were right,” he says.
The second doctor suggested that the soldier may have male candidiasis and prescribed ointment treatment. With no improvement, Gavin sought help at a sexual health clinic, where a dermatologist took a biopsy and eventually got the correct result: The soldier had penile cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute, for each year of the three-year period 2020/2022, approximately 625,000 cases of the disease will be registered in BrazilScientific Photo Library – STEVE GSCHMEISSNER, Getty Images
***photo-of-person-examined-for-suspected-skin-cancerExtremely common in the country, skin cancer is characterized by the appearance of tumors on the skin in the form of irregularly shaped spots or dots. Related to prolonged exposure to the sun, exposure to artificial tanning beds or due to hereditary reasons, the disease can be treated through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.miriam-doerr/istock
***photo-woman-without-shirt-with-symbol-against-breast-cancer-Breast cancer is caused by the uncontrolled multiplication of cells in the breast. Although it is common in women, the disease can affect men as well. Among the symptoms of the disease are: pain in the breast region, hardened lump, redness, swelling and bloody discharge. Treatment involves surgery to remove the breasts, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.PHOTO LIBRARY OF SCIENCE/Getty Images
***person-photo-with-symbol-representing-the-fight-against-prostate-cancerMore common in men, prostate cancer has the following symptoms: blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, needing to urinate several times a day and delay in starting and stopping urination. Surgery and radiation therapy are among the treatments for the disease.Getty Images
*** photo-woman-holding-her-throatWhile it may be related to hyperthyroidism, smoking, changes in sex hormones and diabetes, for example, thyroid cancer is still not well understood by experts. Despite this, the treatments against the disease include, depending on the case, hormone therapy, radiotherapy, radioactive iodine and chemotherapy. get images
***special-lung-cancer.jpgLung cancer is one of the types with the highest incidence in Brazil. In connection with the use or prolonged exposure to smoke, its main symptoms are shortness of breath, chest pain, recurrent pneumonia, bronchitis, bloody sputum and frequent cough. The disease is treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or surgeryBSIP/Getty images
*** photo-offer-of-cigarette-and-other-denialIn Brazil, squamous cell carcinoma has the highest incidence among stomach cancers. Treatments include surgery or radiation therapy and chemotherapyiStock
***photo-man-lying-with-part-of-red-trunk.jpgStomach cancer is diagnosed after malignant tumors have been identified that have spread throughout the organ and may appear as ulcers. Related to infections caused by Helicobacter Pylori, the presence of ulcers and untreated chronic gastritis, for example, the disease can cause vomiting with blood or blood in the stool, frequent belly pains and constant heartburnSmith/Gado/Getty Images Collection
***Drawing-uterus-with-cancer-foci-in-the-cervixSymptoms of cervical cancer include intermittent vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain related to bowel or urinary disorders, and abnormal vaginal discharge. Treatment involves chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.Scientific Photo Library/GettyImages
*** photo-appointment-dentist-mouth-patientOral cancer is a disease involving the presence of malignant tumors in the lips, gums, palate, tongue, cheeks and bones. It is more common in men over the age of 40 and presents as symptoms sores in the oral cavity, spots on the tongue and lumps on the neck, for example. Treatment involves surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.Pexels
0
Gavin finally had surgery in January 2022 to remove the tumor. Together with him, the surgeons also had to remove part of his penis. Frightened by the result, the patient began calling his penis Frankenweiner. The word is a cross between Frankenstein and sausage, in English.
“They lifted my penis and cut it in half. They took a skin graft from my leg to remake the head of my penis, but it’s just straight, with a hole at the end. When I woke up in the hospital, I was amazed at how much had been removed,” she recalls.
New tests showed the cancer had spread and the patient had to undergo another operation in April to remove lymph nodes in his groin and subsequently undergo intensive chemotherapy treatment.
However, doctors reported that the disease continued to advance, spreading to other areas of the body. They warned that Gavin may only have a year left to live.
The Englishman is the father of two sons – Camren, 15, and Jorje, 10 – and has spent most of his life in the army as a physical training instructor. Difficulty walking after cancer treatment meant he used a wheelchair for most of his day.
Now, Gavin is looking for new treatment options outside of England that could increase his life expectancy. “So I can stay as long as possible,” he says.
Receive news from metropolis on your Telegram and stay updated on everything! Just access the channel: https://t.me/metropolesurgente.
#soldier #cancer #part #penis #amputated #metropolis
