Man diagnosed with constipation actually had penile cancer
A 47-year-old Indian man complained of constipation but when doctor examined him, they found that he had a 10 cm tumour in his anus which had spread to his penis.
Doctors found that the growth of the tumour was spanning his anus, bladder, rectum, penis and prostate and it didn’t respond to treatments.
He complained of at times bleeding and having difficulty for around a year to pass stools.
He noticed that he had developed a lump in his anus and also said that over past six months his penis had been slowly thickening.
The doctors at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, suspected that he had cancer. They carried out a CT scan and the scans showed a huge cancerous mass in his rectum and anal canal.
The scan revealed it was infiltrating his bladder, prostrate, urethra - the pipe through which men pass urine - and the top of his penis, reports The Daily Mail.
After few more tests, he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma.
According to news-medical.net, Adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that may affect various organs. It is derived from the word “adeno” meaning 'pertaining to a gland' and “carcinoma” meaning cancer. It is a malignant tumour formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue.
The patient had a surgery to have his colon cut out and redirected, so that he could go to the toilet normally again.
Later, he was transferred to the hospital cancer centre in order to begin chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
However, the therapies didn’t help in shrinking the tumours in his anal canal and penis. The man was told that his cancer is incurable.
The doctors have offered him end-of-life care and painkillers.
Doctors said cancer spreading to the penis is rare - which is a medical paradox as it has a rich supply of blood and lymph fluids.