I have recently started to notice a strange lump beneath the skin of my penis just aft of the head. It feels almost like cartilage. It runs about 1/2 the circumfrence of the penis, is about 1/4 inch thick and 1 inch long. It is there whether I am erect or flacid. I really noticed it today and it freaked me out. It feels like it is just below the surface of the skin and I can grab it and even move it around a bit. Its got me quite scared, if anyone can give me some information I would greatly appreciate it. I haven't been sexually active for about 5 months now but I masturbate on regular once a day.

Are you talking about under the foreskin (if it's non-retractable) or under the inner foreskin (or what's left of it if you are circumcised)?
Geoff

I am circumsized and it is just below the skin that is left from the circumsision i guess. Yesterday after the las erection it stayed hard for a while and was much more prominent then ever before. I decided to go to sleep and see what happened then. When I woke up it was soft again and barely noticeable. At first I thought it was just a vein or something but yesterday it was really hard so I stopped what I was doing immediatley and and went to sleep. I don't mean to sound silly but is it possible that I have been masturbating to much and that I may have bruised some blood vessels in there?

I think you need to ask a doctor to check this out. It could be blood-flow (erection)related but then again it could be something else more serious. I don't know and I dout if anyone else can tell you except a doctor who has actually examined you.
Geoff

Look up lymphocele, and see if the description fits. It is basically a temporary blockage of the drainage of a lymph gland. Nothing to get excited about, and it usually takes care of itself.