LIKE most of us, when Robin Hernon noticed something odd down below, he turned to “Dr Google”.
But in a devastating cautionary tale, the 62-year-old dad reveals that trusting the internet led to horrific consequences – the amputation of part of his manhood.
Robin first noticed the symptom in August 2023.
He was confident Google’s diagnosis of it being wart was true and hoped it would go away.
But in October 2024, 14 months after the dad-of-two first noticed it, the spot had developed and grown into a large weeping cauliflower-like growth.
After plucking up the courage to get it checked out by a GP and applying for an appointment by phone, the electrical engineer was referred to a sexual health clinic.
There, he claims he was repeatedly “interrogated” about the number of sexual partners he had – despite being happily married to his wife.
Staff planned to freeze what they initially believed was a genital wart off, but after a doctor examined it he was immediately referred to hospital.
After being examined by a specialist, Robin was told it was penile cancer and was immediately booked in for surgery.
Robin, from Peterborough, Cambridge, tells Sun Health: “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’.
Robin had a partial penectomy and now jokingly refers to his manhood as a “Mini-Me”, which, although shorter, is still functional.
I spotted a cold sore-like spot on my penis, months later it was amputated
Now, just weeks after being told surgery was a success, Robin is sharing his ordeal in order to encourage blokes to get anything unusual investigated by a doctor.
When the spot on Robin’s penis started weeping, he said its location made it difficult for Robin to sit comfortably – especially when his grandkids visited and “jumped all over him”.
“We were away in Cyprus in October and that’s when I noticed the growth was accelerating,” says Robin.
“That was my driving force and I thought ‘I’ve got to see someone now’.
“Because of where it was, it was uncomfortable to sit. It was difficult to hide the pain when my grandchildren were jumping all over me.
“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
Robin Hernon
“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.”
Robin was angry when his doctor interrogated him to see how many sexual partners he had.
He explains: “I’ve had two partners in my life and to be interrogated [like this] annoyed me. I’m happily married.”
It was March 29, this year, at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) that Robin was handed the devastating news he had cancer.
After his partial penectomy the cancer was declared gone on August 14.
Robin now needs to undergo four-monthly check-ups to check the cancer hasn’t returned.
Urging other men to get checked out if they notice anything unusual, he says: “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].
“We’re all human, don’t be worrying about where it is or what it is. We all have one – whether you have one a different shape to mine [or not].
“I can’t stress enough if something isn’t right you’ve got to get it checked.
“If they [doctors] say they’re busy you hammer on their door until you get in.”
