Over 6,500 penises amputated in Brazil as penile cancer spreads

In 2018, Brazilian pensioner João sought medical help after discovering a wart on his penis.

“I started visiting medical clinics to find out what it was, but all the doctors told me it was due to excess skin and prescribed medication,” the 63-year-old recalls.

Despite the medication, the wart continued to grow, affecting his marriage and sex life. “We were like siblings,” he admits. Determined to find answers, João persisted.

For five years, he consulted various specialists, who prescribed more medication and ordered new biopsies. “Nothing solved it,” he says.

Then, in 2023, João received a diagnosis: penile cancer.

“For my family, it was a very unpleasant surprise, even more so because I had to have part of the penis amputated. I feel like I was decapitated,” he says. “It’s a type of cancer that you can’t talk about with people because it could turn into a joke.”

Penile cancer is rare, but its incidence and mortality rates are rising globally.

According to recent studies, Brazil has one of the highest incidence rates, at 2.1 per 100,000 men.

Between 2012 and 2022, Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported 21,000 cases, resulting in over 4,000 deaths. During the past decade, there have been more than 6,500 amputations—averaging two per day.

Maranhão, the poorest state in Brazil, has the highest incidence rate globally at 6.1 per 100,000 men.