Joshua Nair
A dad has been left with a below average-sized manhood after dismissing a white spot he found on his old chap.
Robin Hernon is sending a warning out to others in a similar position, as the simple spot would develop into a cauliflower-shaped growth, months after its discovery in August 2023.
Unfortunately, his over-reliance on 'Dr Google's' advice on what the issue could be, ultimately cost him, as typing your symptoms into the search bar often doesn't give you the most accurate health information.
Hernon believed in Google's diagnosis, but 14 months on from its first discovery, he realised it had become a noticable enough growth that it was probably worth getting it checked out by a GP.
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Soon enough, he was referred to a sexual health clinic, and he was asked about his partners despite being happily married.
While hospital staff thought they were going to freeze a genital wart off, it turned out that it was something a lot more severe - penile cancer.
According to the NHS, penile cancer can be described as a rare cancer which can affect the skin of the penis and foreskin, with treatments including creams or laser therapy when caught early.
Catching onto it later can mean surgery, while around half of these cases are caused by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). Those who smoke, are over 50, or have problems pulling their foreskin back, are more at risk of the condition.
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After discovering the condition, Hernon was booked in for surgery, with the granddad having a partial penectomy. He sees the lighter side though, calling his smaller manhood a 'Mini-Me' as even though it's smaller, it still works.
The Cambridge-native explained: "When the specialist said it was penile cancer, I just said to him 'do what you have to do to remove the cancer, I want the rest of my life'.
"'I want to get back to my grandkids so take off what you've got to take'.
"It was a partial removal so I [now] have a 'Mini-Me'. The internal organ is still functional so I can still urinate from a similar location."
The Brit recalled noticing the growth when they were in Cyprus last Autumn, adding that 'it started to grow into a cauliflower shape that started weeping'.
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It became more uncomfortable for the 62-year-old to sit, as he recalled: "Internally I was crying, but I couldn't show anything.
"I kept it hidden from my wife because at the time, when I felt something wasn't right, she was getting bad news from family and I didn't want to add to it."
He remembered being interrogated for his sexual history, sharing: "They interrogated me to see what sexual partners I had - both male and female - that made me very angry.
"I've had two partners in my life and to be interrogated [like this] annoyed me. I'm happily married."
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Luckily, Hernon underwent surgery in June this year after being told it was cancer back in March, before being given good news.
By August, he said the cancer was gone, though he would need to go to check-ups every four months to ensure it didn't return.
He said he 'accepted it was the worst' when receiving the news, but is now setting out to help other men in the same position, claiming: "It's a man thing [not getting things checked].
"If anything's not right, get it checked. It's better to see a doctor [and for them] say it's ok [than not]."
"I can't stress enough if something isn't right you've got to get it checked," he urges people, claiming to 'hammer' on the door of doctors if they say they're busy.