Gavin Brooks was told his cancer was genital warts and thrush before he got the correct diagnosis (Picture: SWNS)

An army warrant officer who had half of his penis removed after doctors misdiagnosed his cancer three times has been told he may only have a year left to live.

Gavin Brooks, 45, says he has been left with a ‘Frankenweiner’ after undergoing an operation to have a cancerous tumour removed.

But the dad-of-two has now been told his cancer has spread, and he may only have a year left to live.

He said: ‘I hope I can get some sort of treatment abroad that can help make the cancer smaller and make my lifespan longer so I can stay around as long as possible.

‘My son Jorge says he is going to lift the World Cup one day and I want to be around for that.’

Gavin, of Crewe in Cheshire, went to army doctors three times in 2021 after he experienced a tight ring of skin around his foreskin and later a lesion on the tip of his penis.

‘The best way I can describe it is like a ring of tissue or hard skin within the foreskin.

‘When I would retract the foreskin, I would have to pull it over the head of the penis.

The army warrant officer served for 24 years, but now has to use a wheelchair to move around (Picture: Courtesy Gavin Brooks / SWNS)

‘The skin that connects the foreskin to the penis broke and would bleed and cause pain when I would go for a wee, I knew this wasn’t normal and that I had to get it checked out.’

At first, army doctors believed Gavin was suffering from genital warts, but he had been married for 20 years and only had one sexual partner in that time.

Four weeks later when it had not cleared, Gavin went back to the same doctor who still believed it to be a wart.

After seeing a different GP, Gavin was prescribed a cream after being told it was thrush.

Gavin pictured with his daughter Camren, 15, and his son Jorje, 10 (Picture: Courtesy Gavin Brooks / SWNS)

He then referred himself to a sexual health clinic, who referred him to a dermatologist, who took a biopsy from the penis.

When the result came back, he was given the crushing news he had penile cancer.

In January, Gavin went for an operation where he had part of his penis removed.

He said: ‘They lifted my penis up and cut it in half and took a skin graft from my leg to make a penis head, but it is flat with a hole in.

‘I’ve nicknamed it the “Frankenweiner”. When I woke up in hospital I was so scared at how much of my penis looked to have been removed as it had a dressing on it and a catheter fitted.’

Despite the operation, the cancer had spread and he needed further surgery in April to remove lymph nodes in his groin and intense chemotherapy in June.

Gavin needed further surgery in April to remove lymph nodes in his groin and intense chemotherapy (Picture: Courtesy Gavin Brooks / SWNS)

The dad says he wants to be around to see his son lift the World Cup trophy (Picture: Courtesy Gavin Brooks / SWNS)

Devastatingly, the first round of chemotherapy hasn’t worked, and the cancer has spread to other parts of his body.

He is now undergoing a second chemotherapy treatment with radiotherapy included too.

Gavin is now fundraising to seek other treatments that are not offered on the NHS, including immunotherapy, proton beam therapy and dendritic cell treatment, which are widely used in Germany, Gibraltar and Japan in the advanced cancer stages.

He said: ‘I’ve spent 24 years in the army and a great amount of that time as a fitness training instructor and I use exercise to get rid of stress, now I have to be sat in a wheelchair to watch my little boy play football.

‘I can’t walk long distances and I now use a wheelchair more than I walk.’

Now, he’s urging men to check their penises more regularly for symptoms and has launched an Instagram page called Screaming Cockerel to raise awareness of the disease which has robbed him of his health and mobility.

He added: ‘If I had been diagnosed earlier, I may have only ended up requiring a circumcision that could have prevented the rest of the operations and chemotherapy.

‘That’s why I need to raise as much awareness for this rare and unknown cancer, so more time and research can be spent into the treatment and diagnosis of this deadly disease before it’s too late.’

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He has now been told he may only have a year left to live.