Steven Hamill was just 26 when his penis ballooned to four times its normal size. The swelling was so severe that he later described it as resembling the Grand Canyon. Surgeons eventually removed four inches of his manhood to save his life.
In 2019, Hamill noticed his member had enlarged significantly. Initially attributing it to a possible sexually transmitted disease, he ignored the issue. However, one morning he found a puddle of blood in his kitchen, dripping from his penis. Despite discomfort and a pinching sensation, he continued to disregard the problem.
Misdiagnosis and worsening symptoms
Hamill visited his GP, who diagnosed balanitis—a penile bacterial infection—and prescribed steroid cream. The cream did not help, and his pain worsened. At a second GP appointment, he received more cream, even after experiencing new symptoms such as flaky bits falling off his penis in the bath.
The situation escalated when Hamill fainted in his brother's car in a Morrisons car park. He went to A&E, where doctors told him he had an aggressive form of cancer. “Basically what it was, what the bleeding was, was the cancer eating my penis,” Hamill said. He admitted he would have been fine with having the whole organ removed if it meant relief from pain.
Surgery and aftermath
Hamill was referred to a specialist cancer hospital for a circumcision. While waiting for the procedure with his mother and brother, he suffered another significant bleed. Surgeons acted quickly, and half of his foreskin “dropped off” on the operating table before they amputated four inches. “So I just had this massive Grand Canyon in my penis,” he said.
Today, Hamill can still perform sexually because he was “well endowed” before the operation, but the ordeal left a lasting impact. He has overcome a “dark place” and learned to trust his body again. Dating has been a “minefield” because he must warn partners about his appearance, which often “killed the mood.”
Raising awareness
Hamill is now keen to use his story to highlight penile cancer, which many men do not know exists. “So there's a stat I found out, which was any 10 people, eight people didn't know penile cancer existed,” he said. He urged men not to ignore changes: “Every man knows their penis very well... If anything is a bit wrong, they're gonna know and don't ignore it.”
According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 820 new penile cancer cases in the UK each year—about two per day. Around 180 people die from it annually, and 68% of sufferers survive for more than ten years. Many cases are preventable. The NHS advises seeing a doctor if you notice any changes to your penis, discharge or bleeding, a growth or sore that does not heal within four weeks, a rash, smelly discharge, difficulty retracting the foreskin, or skin colour changes.
