A doctor cautioned people aged 60 and above to be alert to signs or symptoms of penile cancer, saying that common causes of the rare form of cancer includes human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, a redundant prepuce, repeated inflammation of the glans and smoking.
Kao Yao-lin (高耀臨), a urologist at National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s branch in Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六), told a news conference on Tuesday that the hospital recently received an 80-year-old man complaining of swelling in his penis and difficulty urinating.
Kao said the man had an overlong foreskin and had not been able to clean it thoroughly.
He prescribed anti-inflammatory medication to help relieve the symptoms.
As the affected area had accumulated pus, Kao said he arranged for local precision surgery to relieve the pus buildup.
However, during surgery, he found that there were sections of necrotic tissue under the foreskin, as well as tumor-like lumps.
A biopsy confirmed that the man had contracted penile cancer, but since the disease had not spread to his groin lymph nodes, the hospital was able to remove the tumors by conducting a total penoctomy and urethral reconstruction surgery, Kao said.
“We are observing the patient and will determine if any follow-up treatment is necessary,” he added.
Penile cancer is rare in developed countries, with those contracting the disease likely to be in their 60s, Kao said.
Sexually transmitted diseases or balanitis xerotica obliterans were also possible causes for the condition, he added.
Men should be aware that an overlong foreskin could lead to repeated local infection if not cleaned regularly, Kao said, adding that circumcision is an option.
Taiwanese are conservative when it comes to diseases or conditions relating to their genitals and might delay seeing a doctor until their condition becomes obvious or they could not tolerate the pain or discomfort, Kao said.
He advised people to avoid folk remedies and visit their local clinic if they have any doubts.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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