King Charles announced on Friday that his cancer treatment will be relaxed in 2026.
- King Charles announced that his cancer treatment will be phased out by 2026 thanks to early detection and following medical advice.
- The monarch urged Britons to get screened and stressed the importance of early detection of cancer.
- Charles’ openness about his illness marks a shift from royal tradition, aiming to inspire hope and awareness.
Britain’s King Charles III, who has broken royal taboos by talking openly about the battle against cancer, revealed the “good news” on Friday that his treatment will be tapered next year.
In a rare and ‘personal message’ filmed for an annual TV fundraising campaign for cancer research, the monarch also urged Britons to take advantage of UK screening programmes.
“Today I can share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and following the ‘doctor’s orders’, my own cancer treatment schedule can be shortened in the new year,” said Charles.
The 77-year-old king announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer the month before.
“I know from personal experience that a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming,” the King acknowledged in his video message broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the national Stand Up To Cancer campaign.
Charles has not revealed what type of cancer he is being treated for, nor has he specified what type of treatment he is receiving.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post on X that “early cancer screening saves lives”.
He added that, speaking “for the whole country”, he was “pleased” Charles’ treatment would be reduced in the new year.
The king said he was deeply concerned to learn that “at least nine million people in our country are unaware of the cancer screenings available to them.”
“That’s at least nine million opportunities for an early diagnosis to be missed,” he pointed out, while also praising “progress” in cancer treatments and care.
He stressed that when “bowel cancer is detected at its earliest stages, around nine in 10 people survive for at least five years. When diagnosed late, this drops to just one in 10.”
Royal sources said it should not be assumed that the king was being treated for colon cancer.
The king’s willingness to talk about his illness is a marked departure from the reign of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose health was a closely guarded secret for decades.
Celebrity fundraisers and challenges have been taking place throughout the week leading up to Friday’s show.
Stand Up To Cancer says it has raised more than £113 million ($151 million) to date to support research into more than 20 different types of cancer.
‘The Best of Humanity’
Charles’ Cancer was discovered in January 2024 during the treatment of a benign prostate condition for which he had to undergo surgery. The palace has said he does not have prostate cancer.
Just six weeks after Charles announced his diagnosis, his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed that she also had cancer and had started chemotherapy. The mother of three young children has also never discussed which form of cancer she suffered from.
The princess, also known as Kate, announced in January she was in remission and free of cancer, after what her husband, heir to the throne Prince William, admitted had been a “brutal” year and the “hardest” of his life.
The king suspended his public duties for a few weeks before resuming them in April 2024.
He has ramped up his activities in the past year, traveling extensively in Britain, hosting world leaders such as US President Donald Trump and visiting places such as Canada and the Vatican.
He was briefly hospitalized in March after experiencing “side effects” from his ongoing cancer treatment.
In a candid written message at an April reception at Buckingham Palace for cancer campaigners, the monarch acknowledged that any cancer diagnosis is “daunting and sometimes frightening”.
“But as one of those statistics, I can vouch for the fact that it can also be an experience that brings the very best of humanity into sharp focus,” he said.
READ | Any cancer diagnosis is “daunting” and “frightening,” says King Charles
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