Covid-19<\/a> pandemic),\u201d Patrick explained.<\/p>\n\u201cAnd my GP said, \u2018I hate to say it, but I think you\u2019ve got penile cancer\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick said he \u201cdidn\u2019t even know penile cancer existed\u201d but saw a specialist in October 2020 at the Clatterbridge Hospital on the Wirral.<\/p>\n
He said the specialist told him he had \u201can extremely rare and aggressive form of penile cancer\u201d and, without treatment, the prognosis was \u201cbleak\u201d, giving him just 12 months to live.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were shocked, deeply shocked. He said I needed to have an operation,\u201d Patrick explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said to Laura, my now-wife, \u2018I don\u2019t know what operation they\u2019re going to do, but surely they\u2019re not going to chop it off?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she said, \u2018Well, I hate to say this, but I think that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re going to do\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Underwent tests at Christie<\/p>\n
Feeling \u201cbewildered\u201d about the prospect of a penectomy, Patrick was referred to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, the largest single site cancer centre in Europe, where he underwent further tests and scans.<\/p>\n
At this point, he said he was told he had renal cancer as well, as doctors had discovered a tumour on his kidney.<\/p>\n
He then had the procedure to surgically remove two-thirds of his penis, followed by surgery to remove some lymph nodes around his groin and pelvic area, and then radiotherapy.<\/p>\n
He said he questioned doctors over whether he would be able to urinate normally and have sex again after the penectomy, which he can still do, and he wants to encourage men to be open about these \u201cimportant\u201d topics.<\/p>\n
Speaking about intimacy with Laura, he explained: \u201cIt\u2019s not penetrative, but there\u2019s a whole load of other things you can do, and there\u2019s still a lot of pleasure and sensation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only strengthened our strong relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758185468_215_0_Dad-with-terminal-cancer-who-had-two-thirds-of-penis-chopped-off-defies-doctors-bleak-prognosis.jp.jpeg\")
Patrick and his wife Laura (Image: Family handout\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n
However, with lumps continuing to appear, it was decided that Patrick would need to undergo two more types of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
He said the first was \u201csavage\u201d and the second was \u201cradical\u201d yet \u201cbrutal and more punishing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the second type of chemotherapy, called TIP, he said: \u201cI believe I was the second patient to be treated with it for penile cancer at The Christie \u2013 they are brilliant.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was horrendous \u2013 all my hair fell out, all the hair on my body, I looked most peculiar, and I felt truly awful.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mouth was sore, my tongue was blistered, and even a spoonful of honey was painful to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, since his TIP chemotherapy finished in October 2023, Patrick has had no further treatment and his consultant said he is \u201cexceeding expectations\u201d, with no further progression of the disease.<\/p>\n
When Patrick and Laura got married, he was going through treatment and said he did not think he would make it to the first anniversary, let alone their fourth coming up this November.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe important decisions are the ones about the time you spend together with friends, with family, and making the most of it,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I do have some lasting and lingering side effects, like brain fog and lymphoedema, and I get tired more easily, it doesn\u2019t diminish our joy and appetite for doing the best we can with every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Don’t be embarassed’<\/p>\n
Although he is uncertain whether he will need further treatment in future, Patrick wants to raise more awareness of penile cancer and HPV and encourage men to speak out.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll men should go and get checked and keep their partner in the loop from the beginning,” he said. “I wouldn\u2019t have been able to get through this without Laura.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely talk to your nearest and dearest and don\u2019t be embarrassed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than being overwhelmingly consumed by the potential doom and gloom component, there is always something you can cling on to, some level of hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always good to have something positive to look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information and support, visit Orchid\u2019s website at orchid-cancer.org.uk, Global Action on Men\u2019s Health\u2019s website at gamh.org and NOMAN is an Island\u2019s website at nomancampaign.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patrick Howard has defied his doctors’ 12-month prognosis after being diagnosed with penile cancerPatrick Howard, 65(Image: Family handout\/PA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[847,59,102,3995,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-145052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-cancer","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-merseyside","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Dad-with-terminal-cancer-who-had-two-thirds-of-penis-chopped-off-defies-doctors-bleak-prognosis.jp.jpeg\")
Patrick Howard, 65(Image: Family handout\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n