“I didn’t know penile cancer existed and I’m sure there are many others who didn’t know either,” explains Cormac France, outlining his diagnosis and treatment journey and encouraging others to get themselves checked: “I paid a big price for not knowing.I was almost at the point of no return, where chemo or radiotherapy wouldn’t have worked. I had an operation in University Hospital Waterford before Christmas but if I had left it until after Christmas I was told I wouldn’t have seen March."

“It could have been avoided if I had got checked earlier. I made a very conscious decision there and then to be open and upfront about my diagnosis.My advice to anyone coming to terms with a diagnosis is that cancer is cancer, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, it doesn’t matter where it is on your body.”

A father of four from Kildare, Cormac is now sharing his health journey to raise much-needed awareness of this rare form of cancer. Cormac has been working with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) and the National Penile Cancer Centre in Beaumont Hospital, where in recent months they have been developing the first national patient booklet: ‘Penile Cancer What I Should Know’.

Outlining his own story, Cormac explains how, in 2019, he was training for a marathon: “I noticed some changes - for example in warm weather I was cold and always wore a jacket. I also noticed the skin literally cracking on my penis and there was a terrible smell there. But there was zero pain, so I put this out of my mind. I put it down to the training. Cancer never crossed my mind.

“For the first 18 miles of the marathon I was ripping up road, I was flying. I still felt that coldness, but my knee went around the 18th mile so I had to slow down. On the Tuesday I went to see my GP Dr Louise Boyd to get checked out. She did a lot of tests before telling me in her professional opinion that it was cancer. The skin cracking was from cancerous tumours. The word cancer is all you hear.”

Cormac continues: “The next morning, I was called by another doctor, Adrian Fuentes asking me to come into St James Hospital that same day. I was having a bit of meltdown when I got there. Luckily, I bumped into Dr Fuentes on the corridor and he brought me to where I needed to go for the appointment. He spent a lot of time examining me and explaining things. As the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes, I was referred to Ireland’s leading urologist working in this area, Mr Ivor Cullen, and Anne Daniels down in Waterford. The staff in Beaumont and Waterford were fantastic.”

The National Penile Cancer Service, led by Consultant Urologist Mr Ivor Cullen at Beaumont Hospital, is Ireland’s designated referral centre for penile cancer treatment. A recent study suggests that centralising treatment for rare cancers like penile cancer improves patient outcomes and increases the chances of preserving the penis.

Mr Cullen advises that “there are certain things all men can do, to reduce their risk of penile cancer.  Daily cleaning under the foreskin for uncircumcised men, reduces the risk of chronic inflammation and smegma build-up.  In the majority of penile cancers, if it is identified at an early stage, excellent survival is possible. Smegma is a thick, cheesy-looking secretion around your genitals that collects when you don't wash them regularly. It can be white or yellow. It's a combination of oils from your sebaceous (oil) glands.  In the majority of penile cancers, if it is identified at an early stage, excellent survival is possible.”

Emphasising the need to be proactive, Alison Doran, Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Penile, Bladder and Renal Cancer, Beaumont Hospital, stresses that “any man who has any issues with their penis or any wound that hasn’t healed within four weeks, needs to get seen by their GP.”

The HSE is currently raising awareness of penile cancer, a rare cancer affecting about 60 men annually in Ireland. It is typically seen in those over 50 years of age, though it can also impact younger men. The HSE’s National Cancer Control Programme has published a patient guide, ‘What I Need to Know About Penile Cancer’, aiming to raise awareness and provide clear, accessible information on this rare form of cancer. It is available free from www.healthpromotion.ie

Watch Cormac talk about his heath journey (YouTube)