{"id":631236,"date":"2025-12-14T04:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/631236\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:22:11","slug":"more-than-100000-heed-king-charless-call-to-action-on-cancer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/631236\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 100,000 heed King Charles\u2019s call to action on cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of people have followed the King\u2019s advice to check their eligibility for cancer screening after his heartfelt speech on Friday about his diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Charles, 77, whose cancer diagnosis was made public in February last year, used a speech on Channel 4 to promote a new online screening tool launched by Cancer Research UK this month.<\/p>\n

The charity, of which the King<\/a> is the patron, said that 100,000 people had used the webpage<\/a> since it was launched on December 5, the majority in the 24 hours after his video<\/a> was broadcast. The tool allows people to check the different types of cancer screenings that are available to them on the NHS. <\/p>\n

\u201cToo often, I am told, people avoid screening because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable,\u201d the King said. \u201cIf and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are told either they don\u2019t need further tests or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 How the King\u2019s cancer message could save lives<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Charles has not allowed cancer to slow his royal duties<\/p>\n

SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE<\/p>\n

Buckingham Palace said on Saturday that the King \u201cwill be greatly encouraged and deeply touched\u201d by the positive response his message generated. It is estimated that up to nine million people in the UK are overdue for a cancer check, such as a mammogram or a bowel screening, leaving them at risk of deadly diseases. <\/p>\n

The prime minster said he was \u201cglad\u201d that the King\u2019s cancer treatment had been successful and described Charles\u2019s message as \u201cpowerful\u201d. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: \u201cThis response shows just how important open conversations about cancer can be \u2026 Taking just a few minutes to check what screening you\u2019re eligible for could be an important step towards \u00adprotecting your health and could ultimately save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The King gave his backing to the screening tool after his doctors told him that he would be able to scale back treatment in the new year. It can now be revealed that when the King learnt he had cancer nearly two years ago, his wife initially believed his diagnosis should remain private, as she feared the toll public scrutiny of his health might take on his recovery. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The King and Queen have continued to enjoy events such as Royal Ascot<\/p>\n

SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE<\/p>\n

His hesitancy stemmed from a concern for her husband\u2019s privacy, fearing that \u201conce the door on it had been opened, it could never be closed\u201d. But a source close to the couple said: \u201cBoth of them now unequivocally think that being so open has been hugely positive \u2014 positive for public engagement with raising awareness around cancer and also personally for him in terms of how public good has come from personal misfortune.\u201d <\/p>\n

Charles was determined from the outset to pursue \u201copenness and transparency\u201d and Camilla, 78, has taken comfort in how buoyed her husband has been by the public response to his candour about his illness. <\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

The King hosting President Macron at Windsor Castle<\/p>\n

SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE<\/p>\n

After his diagnosis, Charles discussed how to approach the news with his \u00adclosest confidants. Some in royal circles were unconvinced that such transparency was wise, feeling that it was \u201cnot very \u00addignified\u201d to speak about the \u00admonarch\u2019s health. <\/p>\n

Charles disagreed. When his treatment began at the private London Clinic, he insisted he be driven to and from \u00adhospital in the state Bentley for the first few weeks, its unusually large windows ensuring he was visible to the public as he left Clarence House or Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n

Aides had suggested a more discreet option \u2014 a \u201clow-key\u201d BMW official car or a vehicle with blacked-out windows from the royal fleet \u2014 but the King was \u00adadamant that even if he looked under par some days, he would not hide away from public view.<\/p>\n

In doing so, Charles has charted new territory for a reigning monarch. His grandfather King George VI was not \u00adoriginally told by his doctors that he had cancer and then the diagnosis was \u00adconcealed from the public, while the late Queen\u2019s illness in her final years was described by the palace as \u201cepisodic mobility issues\u201d. <\/p>\n

The King\u2019s transparency was mirrored by that of his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales. It was revealed the month after the King\u2019s diagnosis that Kate, 43, was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for an undisclosed type of cancer. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

On Saturday Kate visited the Ever After Garden, where the public can dedicate one of 30,000 illuminated roses c to a relative in support of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity<\/p>\n

TOBY SHEPHEARD\/KENSINGTON PALACE<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

TOBY SHEPHEARD\/KENSINGTON PALACE<\/p>\n

Cancer has not slowed the King down. He returned to public duties last April and quickly resumed a full programme of engagements and state visits.<\/p>\n

He has since undertaken almost 600 public engagements, hosted five state \u00advisits and made five of his own. The King has visited seven countries, including Australia and Samoa last October and Canada in May, and travelled almost 40,000 miles by air. <\/p>\n

A friend of the King said of his work: \u201cEven at his worst times, it has been an anchor for him.\u201d After Charles and Camilla\u2019s tour of Australia and Samoa, during which the King at times understandably appeared exhausted, aides said he had in fact found the trip a \u201cperfect tonic\u201d. Another friend previously said he was like \u201ca caged lion\u201d when he was unable to work. <\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

The King and Queen visited Samoa last year<\/p>\n

AARON CHOWN\/PA<\/p>\n

Buckingham Palace has never disclosed the precise nature of the King\u2019s illness \u2014 beyond confirming that it is not prostate cancer \u2014 but he has nonetheless wanted to be as transparent as he feels able. Speaking in a pre-recorded video that was broadcast on Channel 4 on Friday night as part of its Stand Up To Cancer campaign, Charles said that hearing you have cancer could feel \u201coverwhelming\u201d but that early diagnosis had enabled him \u201cto continue leading a full and active life, even while undergoing treatment\u201d. <\/p>\n

Each year, more than 400,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK and about 170,000 die from the disease. Medical advances, from improved screening to new treatments such as gene therapy and stem-cell immunotherapy, mean there are now far more ways to tackle it.<\/p>\n

More than half of cancer patients \u2014 58 per cent \u2014 diagnosed in 2018 were still alive five years later, with just under half expected to survive for at least a \u00addecade, according to data from Cancer Research UK. <\/p>\n

Earlier diagnosis has been crucial to improving survival rates: the sooner a cancer is detected, the greater the chance it can be treated successfully. NHS England has made earlier diagnosis a \u00adpriority, aiming to identify tumours at stages one and two, before the disease metastasises, spreading to other organs. Nearly three in five cancers were diagnosed early in 2024, the highest rate on record, and the NHS is aiming to raise that figure to 75 per cent by 2028.<\/p>\n

\"King<\/p>\n

The King played a key role in President Trump\u2019s second state visit<\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

The King being so public about his health has already encouraged people to come forward for testing. When the \u00adPalace said in January 2024 that the King was being treated for a benign prostate enlargement, the NHS webpage offering advice on the condition saw more than 11 times the usual number of visitors. <\/p>\n

It will also help tackle stigma. Speaking to Times Radio on Saturday, Jonathan \u00adDimbleby, a friend of Charles, spoke about the difference the King had made.<\/p>\n

Dimbleby\u2019s father, the broadcaster \u00adRichard, died in 1965 at the age of 52 from testicular cancer.
\u201cHe\u2019d been too \u00adembarrassed by the symptoms of testicular cancer and he didn\u2019t go until it was late in the day when he reported it,\u201d said \u00adDimbleby. \u201cWhen he, through David, my brother, said \u2018I have got cancer\u2019, it had a huge impact at that stage 60 years ago, because what he was doing was to say, \u2018Look, people don\u2019t like the term, they call it the big C \u2014 it\u2019s perfectly OK to say cancer\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve advanced so far from that, but we need to go further.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands of people have followed the King\u2019s advice to check their eligibility for cancer screening after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[5105,7710,519,448],"class_list":{"0":"post-631236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-royal","9":"tag-royal-families","10":"tag-royal-family","11":"tag-royals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115716016848329781","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}