Removing 30% of my penis saved my life – this is why I let the surgery be filmed

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Removing 30% of my penis saved my life – this is why I let the surgery be filmed6 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleCatherine LystBBC ScotlandBBC/Dragonfly Film and TV ProductionsAlastair Munro is encouraging men to get checked out by a GP as soon as they see anything that doesn't seem rightWhen Alastair Munro noticed a small lump on his penis was starting to get bigger he suspected he was dealing with something serious. He put off going to the doctor for about six weeks but as soon as the GP saw him he was told it was likely to be cancer. "It was quite a bold thing to say," Alastair, 49, said.

He couldn't say 100% but he thought it was cancer. "A week later the urologist at Raigmore said the same thing. Then it was just the case of getting a biopsy.

The Details

"Three months after first noticing the lump, Alastair, a construction engineer from Inverness, received confirmation that it was penile cancer - a rare condition that only affects 80 to 90 men a year in Scotland and 700 across the UK. This story contains graphic descriptions of surgery. /Dragonfly Film and TV ProductionsAlastair credits surgeon CJ Shukla with saving his life"I was pretty shocked but had been confident it was cancer," he told Scotland News.

"I'd never, ever heard of this kind of cancer before. Things moved pretty quickly after that. "A CT scan confirmed that the cancer was spreading.

Alastair's surgery was followed by a camera crew and will feature on Wednesday's episode of Surgeons: At The Edge of Life. The complex procedure involved the removal of the tumour and 30% of Alastair's penis in a seven-hour operation. The cancer had spread to lymph nodes in Alastair's groin, so they also had to be removed.

What Experts Say

His penis was then reconstructed using a skin graft from his thigh. Penile cancer medical trial 'gave me two more years'Penis cancer cases increasing: Brazil sees 6,500 amputations in a decadeCancer error led to penis amputationSix weeks later, Alastair, who is originally from Kingussie, had to go under the knife for a further three-and-a-half hours after results from the first surgery showed a small amount of tumour was still present. There was a 50% chance that the cancer would spread to his pelvic area.

"They can't actually tell if its cancerous until they get inside you," he said. "What they actually do is cut away the cancerous nodes and check them straight away. They are basically just digging through you.

"They keep going until they find the end of the cancer. It sounds pretty primitive but that's what they're doing. It's quite amazing really.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.