King Charles diagnosis: Cancer outcomes for patients over 75

More than two decades ago, King Charles III, who was Prince of Wales at the time, gave a speech in which he said he was told being diagnosed with a cancer was like “suddenly finding yourself in an unknown land”.

The monarch, a patron of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity since 1997, has now found himself in that position after being diagnosed with the disease, which will ultimately affect one in two people during their lifetime.

Someone is diagnosed with cancer every two minutes in the UK.

At the age of 75, King Charles is in the most at-risk group.

The older a person is, the more likely they are to develop cancer: a third of all cases in the UK involve people aged 75 and over, Cancer Research UK says.

The risk increases because the cells in our bodies deteriorate over time and as damage builds, cancer can develop.

In his speech in 1999, to support a Macmillan campaign named A Voice for Life, he spoke of the need to “rewrite the rhetoric of cancer”.

“People tell me that being diagnosed with a cancer is like suddenly finding yourself in an unknown land, with no map, no compass, no sign posts and no knowledge of the language,” he said.

“The treatments are complex. Many different health professionals are involved – people can see as many as 50 different doctors. They need help to find their way in this no doubt alien and intimidating world.”

Queen Elizabeth II, the king’s mother, was reportedly suffering from multiple myeloma at the time of her death in 2022.

Her father, King George VI, who suffered from lung cancer, died 72 years ago to the day on February 6, 1952, due to a blood clot. That caused a coronary thrombosis, the blockage of arteries that carry blood to the heart, leading to a sudden collapse and fatal heart failure.

His death came as a shock to the public and the royal family – even the king had not been informed of the full extent of his illness.

His case is in stark contrast to that of the current monarch, who wanted to make his diagnosis public because of his long-running support for cancer charities.

A day before his illness was announced, the Royal Family shared a post on X to mark World Cancer Day, which said: “Today is #WorldCancerDay – a global initiative aiming to raise awareness about cancer. Earlier this week, Her Majesty The Queen opened @MaggiesCentres Royal Free, a new cancer support centre at Royal Free Hospital.”

How King Charles was diagnosed

The king’s condition was discovered while he was receiving treatment for a benign prostate enlargement last week, uncovering a “separate issue of concern”.

The nature of King Charles’s cancer has not been disclosed, although Buckingham Palace said it was not of the prostate.

Men over 75 are prone to several types of cancer.

Britain’s position in the league table

According to Cancer Research UK, the five-year relative survival for cancer in men is below the European average in England, Wales and Scotland.

A report last week commissioned by the group said progress in UK cancer survival is at its slowest in 50 years.

In a benchmarking exercise involving several provinces of Canada and parts of the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand between 1995 and 2007, survival rates were higher in Australia, Canada and Sweden, intermediate in Norway and lower in Denmark and the UK.

Britain was ninth in terms of five-year survival rates from colon cancer; eighth for rectum cancer; seventh for lung, pancreatic and stomach, and sixth for ovarian.

A video camera outside Buckingham Palace, London, after the announcement of King Charles’s cancer diagnosis. PA

Which types are most common?

In the UK, prostate cancer is the most common in men aged 75 and over, with lung cancer second, followed by bowel and bladder cancer.

Prostate, which the palace has confirmed is not affecting the king, accounts for a quarter of cancer diagnosed in men over 75.

About 16 per cent of cancers discovered in older men affect the lung. Smoking is the leading cause but the king does not smoke.

Bowel cancer accounts for 14 per cent of the disease found in men aged 75. Bleeding from the rectum and a change in bowel habits are among the most common symptoms.

Bladder cancer makes up about 6 per cent of cancer discovered in older men. Symptoms are similar to that of prostate cancer, with a frequent need to urinate, which may be painful. The urine can also contain blood.

King Charles III through the years – in pictures

A photo released by Buckingham Palace as they announced that King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer. All Photos: Getty Images unless stated

King Charles attends the Sunday service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in January

King Charles and Queen Camilla leaving The London Clinic in January. The King had been receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate.

King Charles delivers his Christmas message at Buckingham Palace in December 2023

King Charles delivers an address at the opening ceremony of the Cop28 Summit in December 2023 in Dubai

King Charles and Prince William attend the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph in November 2023 in London

King Charles and Queen Camilla at the State Opening of Parliament in November 2023

King Charles waters and plants a tree watched by President of Kenya, William Ruto in October 2023 in Nairobi

King Charles and US President Joe Biden review a guard of honour at Windsor Castle in July 2023

Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, King Charles and Queen Camilla during the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, in July 2023

King Charles and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, after his coronation. PA

King Charles, carrying the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre, leaves Westminster Abbey after the Coronation in May 2023. AFP

King Charles III is crowned with St Edward’s Crown by The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in May 2023. PA

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, centre, with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buedenbender during the king’s state visit in March 2023

King Charles and Camilla during a visit to the Bangladeshi community of Brick Lane, London, in February 2023

King Charles welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the leader of the Conservative Party to form a new government in October 2022

King Charles during the recording of his first Christmas broadcast at Windsor Castle in December 2022

King Charles follows the coffin of Queen Elizabeth as it is carried from Westminster Abbey after her state funeral. AP

King Charles holds a vigil beside the coffin of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, as it lies in state on the catafalque in Westminster Hall. PA

King Charles greets members of the public as he walks by the gates of Buckingham Palace after the death of Queen Elizabeth. AP

King Charles shakes hands with British Prime Minister Liz Truss during their first audience at Buckingham Palace

King Charles III delivers his address to the nation and the Commonwealth from Buckingham Palace after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022

Prince Charles with Camilla and Prince William during the ceremonial state opening of parliament at the Palace of Westminster in 2022

Prince Charles and Camilla on a visit to Giza in Egypt in 2021

Prince Charles joined members of the British Asian Trust for a short bicycle ride as they launched the charity’s Palaces on Wheels cycling event at Highgrove in 2021

Prince Charles walks behind the Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin during the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles during the state opening of parliament at the Palace of Westminster, London, in 2019

Prince Charles, Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry arrive for a Christmas Day church service on the Sandringham estate in December 2018

Prince Charles leads Meghan Markle up the aisle during her wedding to Prince Harry in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2018

Prince Charles and Camilla attend a dinner hosted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, in Amsterdam in 2013

Prince Charles and Harry in front of an Apache helicopter at the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop, 2011

Queen Elizabeth presents Prince Charles with the Royal Horticultural Society’s Victoria Medal of Honour at the Chelsea Flower Show, west London, in 2009

An official portrait to mark Prince Charles’s 60th birthday in 2008

Prince Charles and his new bride Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle after their wedding in April 2005

Charles with his sons William and Harry on a ski break at Klosters in Switzerland in 2005

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles in Avignon during a state visit to France in 1972

Prince Charles learns a soul dance routine at St George’s Secondary School in Maida Vale, west London, in 1978

Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles follow the coffin of Princess Diana at her funeral in London in September 1997

Diana and Prince Charles pose with their sons, Princes William and Harry, on Prince William’s first day at Eton College in 1995

Prince Charles and Diana on a visit to Nottingham in 1985

Diana and Prince Charles with Prince Harry leave St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, west London, in 1984

Prince Charles and his wife Diana with their baby son, Prince William, at home in Kensington Palace in 1983

Prince Charles and Diana with son William in 1983

Prince Charles and Diana on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day in 1981

Prince Charles at a polo event in Windsor Great Park, accompanied by the queen and Prince Edward, in 1971

Prince Charles leaving Caernarfon Castle after his investiture as Prince of Wales, in Gwynedd, 1969

Prince Charles during a tour of Wales in 1969

Prince Charles playing cricket in 1968. He was playing for Lord Brabourne against a team of Grand Prix racing drivers.

Prince Charles and Princess Anne at Windsor Great Park in 1968

Prince Charles at the University of Cambridge in 1967, where he was beginning his term at Trinity College

Queen Elizabeth and her family travel to Sandringham in 1966. Prince Andrew is on her lap, the Duke of Edinburgh to her left with Princess Anne on his lap, and Prince Charles, right

Prince Charles, walking a Corgi, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and their nanny Mabel Anderson at Euston Station, London, in 1963

US President Dwight D Eisenhower, centre, with the British royal family, left to right, Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, at Balmoral Castle in 1959

Queen Elizabeth watches her son Prince Charles driving a toy car in the grounds of Balmoral Castle in 1952

A young Prince Charles is perched on the lap of his father the Duke of Edinburgh, while his mother Queen Elizabeth II looks on in the grounds of Windlesham Moor in 1949

Survival rates

Early-stage cancer (stage one) refers to a period when the disease has not begun to spread to other organs and treatment has more chance of success.

For example, more than nine in 10 people with bowel cancer survive the disease for five years or longer if diagnosed at stage one.

This falls to one in 10 if bowel cancer is diagnosed at the most advanced stage and has spread.

With bladder cancer, about 80 per cent of people survive for five years or more if diagnosed at an early stage.

This drops to 10 per cent at an advanced stage.

Age is another factor affecting survival rates. On average, 60 per cent of men survive five years or more after being diagnosed with bladder or bowel cancer in their seventies.

What is the king’s prognosis?

The monarch’s cancer was caught early, according to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which should mean it is easier to treat.

Buckingham Palace said King Charles had now begun as “schedule of regular treatment” for the condition. His treatment could include chemotherapy, radiotherapy or medicine.

The palace said he was “wholly positive about his treatment” and “looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible”.