A cancer charity close to the King’s heart has sent best wishes following news of his diagnosis.
Charles has been patron of Macmillan Cancer Support for more than 20 years, having taken up the role in 1997.
The Royal Household is currently conducting a review of royal patronages across dozens of charities and organisations.
Our thoughts are with His Majesty The King and his family.
We are sending our best wishes at what we know must be an incredibly challenging time. https://t.co/m661AKLB4P
— Macmillan Cancer Support (@macmillancancer) February 5, 2024
A statement from Macmillan on X, formerly Twitter, said: “Our thoughts are with His Majesty the King and his family.
“We are sending our best wishes at what we know must be an incredibly challenging time.”
A statement from Cancer Research UK on X said: “We’re sorry to hear the news that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer.
“We’re sending our thoughts and well wishes to the King and the royal family at this difficult time.”
We are saddened to hear of HM King Charles III's cancer diagnosis and wish him all the best with his treatment and recovery.
Our thoughts are with the whole of the @RoyalFamily including our Patron HRH The Princess Royal.
— Tenovus Cancer Care / Gofal Canser Tenovus (@tenovuscancer) February 5, 2024
Maggie’s cancer support chief executive Dame Laura Lee said of the announcement: “We are incredibly sorry to hear the King’s news and our thoughts are with him.
“We also know how challenging and worrying a time a cancer diagnosis can be for the whole family and our thoughts are very much with our president, Her Majesty the Queen.”
Professor Pat Price, founder of the Catch Up With Cancer campaign, said the outpouring of well wishes “reflects the collective concern we all share”.
She added: “The King’s openness about his battle with cancer is a powerful reminder that one in two of us may face cancer at some point in our lives.”
Finding out you have cancer can be very daunting – we hope King Charles’ treatment goes well.
As ever, if you have any symptoms or signs of cancer, please do come forward for checks. https://t.co/4aUvjQRyrc
— Amanda Pritchard (@AmandaPritchard) February 5, 2024
Judi Rhys, chief executive of Tenovus Cancer Care, of which the Princess Royal is patron, said: “We are saddened to hear of the King’s cancer diagnosis and wish him all the best with his treatment and recovery.
“Our thoughts are with the whole of the royal family including our patron HRH the Princess Royal.”
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “Finding out you have cancer can be very daunting – we hope King Charles’s treatment goes well.
“As ever, if you have any symptoms or signs of cancer, please do come forward for checks.”
Chiara De Biase, director of support and influencing at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We are saddened to hear of the King’s cancer diagnosis and wish him well as he starts his treatment.
“Whilst we’re aware that the King has not been diagnosed with prostate cancer, more detail about his condition has not been disclosed and we respect Buckingham Palace’s request for people not to speculate.
“The King’s openness and honesty in announcing his treatment for an enlarged prostate raised vital awareness about the condition. We saw a 500% increase in people coming to our website for information and support in the week following the news, and an impact in men looking to learn more about their prostate and prostate cancer, with an increase in men taking our 30-second online risk checker.
“It’s important to remember that an enlarged prostate is very common in men over 50. It isn’t caused by cancer and it doesn’t increase your risk of getting prostate cancer.”