Monarch to Deliver First-Hand Message on Illness in TV Broadcast
The Monarch has taped a personal message about his battle with cancer, set to air as part of this year's fundraising campaign, spearheaded by Cancer Research UK and a television broadcaster.
The royal household stated the King would talk about his "path to recovery" as a cancer patient, in a televised statement on Friday evening at 20:00 GMT.
The recording, filmed within a royal residence a fortnight ago, will stress the critical nature of routine screenings to increase the likelihood more people catch the disease at an treatable phase.
This represents a rare update on the health of the Monarch, who has been receiving ongoing care since revealing his diagnosis in early last year. However, it is believed unlikely the King will specify his particular diagnosis.
The Campaign's Core Mission
The Stand Up To Cancer campaign each year collects money for medical research and treatment and encourages people to get check-ups to boost the probability of an timely detection.
The King's candid approach about his health challenge, and living with cancer, has been aimed to promote education and to get more people to get screened - and this will be taken a step further with this exceptional direct participation.
Up until now the King's main approach to his cancer has been to keep working, maintaining a full diary in spite of his frequent sessions of therapy, and he seems not to have sought to be overshadowed by his illness.
The past twelve months has seen the King, 77, embarking on several overseas trips, including to Italy and Canada, and hosting the largest volume of official guests to the UK for decades, which included the German president in recent days.
Charity Broadcast Event
The upcoming charity show on television, hosted by celebrities like several TV personalities, will urge people not to be afraid of getting cancer checks.
Each presenter have been had experience with cancer - McCall revealed recently she had had an operation for the disease, while Clare Balding was diagnosed with a thyroid condition over a decade ago. Host Adam Hills has previously discussed his parent, who had one form of cancer and then later another illness.
The programme will target the estimated millions of people in the UK who health organisations says are not compliant with public health checks, with an online checker to let people check if they are able for tests for key health indicators.
In an bid to explain screenings and show the value of early diagnosis there will be a live broadcast from cancer clinics at medical facilities in Cambridge.
"The goal is to remove the anxiety surrounding cancer screening and demonstrate the public that they are not on their own in this," said one of the hosts.
Available Health Checks
At present in the UK, there are a number of NHS cancer screening programmes - for bowel, breast and cervical cancer - available to eligible individuals.
A recently launched lung cancer screening programme is also being gradually implemented for individuals at increased risk of developing the illness, specifically targeting people in a specific age bracket, who are smokers or used to.
Individuals may discuss specific tests, but there is no national programme operational.
Ongoing Efforts
The Stand Up to Cancer initiative, which has collected over one hundred million pounds since 2012, is financing 73 clinical trials involving many patients.
His Majesty, in a statement for attendees at a gathering for related organisations in earlier this year, had spoken of acknowledging the "overwhelming and at times scary reality" for cancer sufferers and their loved ones.
But he stated his first-hand encounter of managing cancer had revealed that "the most difficult times of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion," as he commended those who cared for those receiving treatment.
Official sources has not made public what kind of cancer the King has, or the therapies he has been given. The King's cancer was identified subsequent to he had had a medical treatment.
