Paul Lucas, diagnosed with penile cancer at age 37 in 2022, has had his penis amputated and reconstructed using tissue from his arm, with his wife Nicky playing a role in the design. The couple shared their story on Monday's This Morning with hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
Paul underwent the amputation after the cancer diagnosis and earlier this year had the reconstruction from parts of his arm. He has completed one of three operations toward the final stage, which will eventually make the reconstruction functional, allowing him to use a device similar to one designed for men with erectile dysfunction.
Marriage tested by diagnosis
Nicky and Paul had been married only months when he received the diagnosis, which he said brought feelings of “overriding guilt.” He told the show: “You always think a man is what’s in between your legs, but it took me a couple of years to realise, it’s got little impact in what makes a man. But I did actually give Nicky the opportunity to leave basically, without guilt.” He worried his sex life would be affected and that Nicky could have a complete relationship elsewhere, thinking he was doing her a favour.
Nicky, however, said she was not going anywhere, adding: “With or without a penis, I love him wholeheartedly.” She also revealed her involvement in the design process, telling the hosts: “It depends on the healthiness of the skin, the arteries and things like that but when it came to the size measurements, I said, why not go bigger if possible? So that’s what we did.”
Emotional reunion
Paul responded: “I’ve got a designed phallus, haven’t I, which there’s not many wives who can say that. The awkward nature of it, because there’s no erectile tissue, it is always the size it is, which can be a bit awkward.”
The couple said they had tested the reconstruction, with Nicky describing the experience: “It was really emotional, because it’s not the be-all and end-all to not have that, whether Paul had a new phallus or not wouldn’t have made any difference but to have that complete connection again was really overwhelming and really emotional. I’ve got no complaints.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
