King Charles opens up about cancer diagnosis and treatment

LONDON — King Charles III opened up Wednesday about the lessons he has learned from his cancer diagnosis and treatment, an experience that he said "brings into sharp focus the very best of humanity."

Speaking at a Buckingham Palace celebration of community-based initiatives raising cancer awareness and supporting those living with the disease, Charles said that "each diagnosis, each new case, will be a daunting and at times frightening experience for those individuals and their loved ones."

"It has certainly given me an even deeper appreciation of the extraordinary work undertaken by the remarkable organizations and individuals gathered here this evening, many of whom I have known, visited and supported over the years," he said. "And it has reinforced what I have long observed during these visits — that the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion."

Charles thanked the health care professionals providing cancer treatment, saying that "they have my whole family’s deepest admiration and gratitude" and that their care "represents the very best our country can offer."

"What strikes us repeatedly is the profound impact of human connection — whether in the careful explanation from a specialist nurse, the hand held by a hospice volunteer or the shared experience in a support group," he said. "These moments of kinship create what I might call a 'community of care,' one that sustains patients through the most difficult of times."

Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024. He has kept much of his dealings with the disease, including what type of cancer he has or the stage of the disease, private.

Most recently, he was hospitalized last month because of side effects from his treatment, according to Buckingham Palace.

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Charles was diagnosed last year just weeks before news that Princess Kate, 43, was undergoing "preventative chemotherapy," piling on to shock waves about the British monarchy around the world.

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About 20 million cancer cases were newly diagnosed, and 9.7 million people died from the disease worldwide in 2022, according to the most recent global statistics from the American Cancer Society.

Charles concluded the speech and left listeners with a quotation from Dame Deborah James, a British journalist, podcaster and educator who died of bowel cancer in 2022 and whose parents were at the event.

"'Find a life worth enjoying, take risks, love deeply, have no regrets, and always, always have rebellious hope,'" he said.

David Hodari reported from London and Matt Lavietes from New York.