26th March 2020, St Georges, University of London, Tooting, England. Man vs machine After the drama of the last few days, it’s good to get started. They forgot my paper knickers today, so I got to wear a flimsy dress without any underwear. It was quite liberating really. I can see what all the hurry […]
31st March 2020, Phonecall The news I’ve been waiting for The prof called, the pelvic node test results are in and they’re negative. So I’m officially cancer free! Or am I? It’s probably safer to say there’s no evidence of any disease. Maybe in a few years I’ll be happy saying I’m cured. For those […]
15th April, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton Branch, Surrey, England It’s like the first day in a new job I’m at the Royal Marsden in Surrey today. It’s a shining example of what the NHS could be if we started shooting political activists. I expected to use the one in Chelsea, but while everyone’s on COVID […]
12th May 2020, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, England. Well, this is awkward I’m on day one of the chemo, and I have radiotherapy booked in later too. It’s dead posh here, they even give you an electric blanket for your arm! “Has anyone spoken to you about sex Mr Little?” I thought it was […]
18th May 2020, Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey, England Chemo. What a club to be a member of. It’s week two of the chemotherapy treatment… and the rules have changed at the Royal Marsden, as mask wearing is now mandated for all. Jo and the kids shaved my head yesterday, I clearly didn’t look menacing enough, […]
2nd June 2020, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey Is it the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning? My chemo is complete, and I have 5 radiotherapy sessions left in the “adjuvant therapy” phase. I’ve had enough of the 160 mile round trips every day, and I’m glad they’re almost over. After […]
8th August 2020, St Anthony’s Hospital, Surrey, England. More good news Despite there being no evidence of disease now, or in remission as it’s sometimes known… I’m in “high risk surveillance”, so I get chest, abdomen and pelvis CT scans every 3 months for 3 years. Then scans twice a year for two years. I’ve […]
22nd October 2020, St Anthony’s Hospital, Surrey, England. How has all this happened in less than 12 months? I met the professor 11 months ago, when he confirmed that I had penile cancer. I’ve actually been “cancer free” since the beginning of the year, and I’m now on surveillance. *That’s cancer free in the sense […]
In these pages, I share everything I have learnt about penile cancer in the past year. Living with cancer changes everything. The effects of surgery, treatment and the changes that your body is going to have to cope with are tough to take sometimes. You laugh, you cry and some days you’re so frustrated that […]
So many questions. I know you have questions, it’s only natural! So, I’ve put together a list of all the things I’d ask if I thought I might have penile cancer. Or maybe, if I’d just had a diagnosis and was worried about what might come next. Maybe you’re just interested, and that’s fine too. […]