Every cancer diagnosis ‘daunting’ and ‘frightening’, says King Charles

King Charles III arrives for a visit to the Gordon Highlanders Museum to view recent renovations, in Aberdeen, Scotland, Monday Jan. 20, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/Pool Photo via AP)

Every cancer diagnosis is “daunting and at times frightening”, King Charles III told cancer charity workers on Wednesday, reflecting on his own experience of the disease.

In a written message handed to guests at a Buckingham Palace reception, Charles said there were more than 1,000 new cancer cases diagnosed every day in the UK, or some 390,000 a year.

“But as one among those statistics myself, I can vouch for the fact that it can also be an experience that brings into sharp focus the very best of humanity.”

The 76-year-old monarch, who is still undergoing weekly treatment for an unspecified cancer, said his journey since his February 2024 diagnosis had also shown how “the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion”.

He said he had been struck by “the profound impact of human connection” and “moments of kinship” such as “the hand held by a hospice volunteer.”

Earlier this month, the king had another health scare and was briefly admitted to hospital after experiencing temporary side effects from his treatment.

A royal source told the Press Association on Wednesday that there was no update on the king’s condition but his treatment continued in a “very positive direction”.

‘Hope and support’

The king said in his message that his treatment had given him an “even deeper appreciation” of the work being done by his guests from the cancer support community.

And he sought to comfort those receiving a new cancer diagnosis repeating the words of a late well-known British campaigner, Deborah James.

“Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope.”

Just six weeks after Charles announced he had cancer came the news in March 2024 that his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, had also been diagnosed with cancer and had begun chemotherapy.

Catherine, who is married to Charles’s eldest son and heir to the throne Prince William, said in January that she was now in remission.

Charles returned to work within two-and-a-half months and gradually ramped up his duties in 2024, making several foreign trips that took him as far as Australia and Samoa.

Earlier in April, he and his wife Queen Camilla toured Italy and even met with the late Pope Francis just days before his death.

Charles told Thursday’s guests that their work meant that although “every patient’s journey may be different, together you are ensuring that a cancer diagnosis need never mean facing the future without hope and support”.