To think King Charles would do more for awareness by saying which cancer he has

[DontLeanOnTheKeyboard]

Why all the secrecy? Everyone knows where the prostate is so is fully aware of the initial investigations - if he is happy to share that very personal info, why not say what cancer? It would surely be more useful for him to say ‘it’s this, I had symptoms but ignored them..’

Same as what the Queen died of and I think Kate’s missed a trick in not making herself more human by sharing a little more around the abdo surgery. Childbirth does all kinds of shit to women’s bodies, it seems a good subject to say ‘happens to us all’

Is there some royal protocol that means they can’t say?

Saying you've got cancer is not raising awareness.
Saying you noticed blood in your faeces, you went to the GP and they diagnosed bowel cancer is raising awareness.

But he does have a right to privacy. However he is not raising awareness.

I do feel for him and his family though. Most families have experience of cancer so I am sure most people can have an understanding of what they are experiencing.

Why would that be more secretive than another one??

I wonder if they are waiting till a positive outcome before revealing the type of cancer?

If it goes badly, or he has a long painful illness it might frighten people into putting their heads back into the sand about screening for it.

Absolutely. Royal or not, they're human beings.

FFS, absolutely no-one owes us their medical information, especially when coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis.
I'm no monarchist, but I think it's appalling that people actually think that they're owed this stuff. I can only think that they're absolutely devoid of empathy.

@cakeorwine you've put it much better than me! This! What awareness has he raised? I heard on the radio he was being lauded across the globe for raising awareness of cancer?! As @Hiphopopotamonster said - everyone knows about cancer fgs, him saying go to the doc if you have symptoms - what bloody symptoms (notwithstanding actually getting a GP appt 😂😂).

And it's not to appease me, silly comment, I was just wondering why the secrecy? Particularly after being happy to share he went for prostate treatment.

Why? We don't need to know. This is so weird

Revealing the specific cancer would cause a massive interest in that type of cancer and all the other cancers would be pushed into the background, whereas at the moment ALL cancers are increasing in visibilty - something that is bound to help ALL patients and All cancer research and charities.

On a less serious note, I hope it's not ear cancer.

You do realise he’s an actual person with the right to privacy over what information he shares about his medical history?

The papers would be full of prognosis. This way its kept private and I think it's sensible to give the information he has because many treatments have side effects that are noticeable and require cancellation of his schedule, so no point giving out no information.

That's not on him though. He hasn't gone round saying he's been raising awareness of cancer. He's just been getting on with his life.

Agree they didn’t need to mention it at all. Why mention cancer then not what kind? It’s not like the press will just leave it there is it, we’ll never hear the end of it now!

The PoW should 100% have said what her surgery was,

Why? She owes us nothing of her private life. Good grief. You don't own the woman.

No I don’t agree - he’s only just been diagnosed, give him some time to process it!

Medical privacy is important and it would just be endless tv pundits and columns of ohhh this cancer x amount of time to live, he’s going to be dealing with this and this and every non doctor in the uk having an opinion, maybe the whole family doesn’t want to hear that day in day out.

His body, his choice. Like everyone else who has had a cancer diagnosis I imagine he's shocked and scared. It's no-one else's business.

How will cancer affect Charles and the thousands diagnosed every day? | King Charles III | The Guardian

"People with cancer are often encouraged to be positive but it is not always easy. Living with cancer and its treatment can be frightening. However, it is clear that the king hopes his diagnosis may raise greater awareness of the disease.
Buckingham Palace said he chose to share his cancer diagnosis to “prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer”.
Despite the fact that so many will develop the disease like Charles, not everyone is fully aware of the signs and symptoms.
They include changes in bowel habits, bloating, bleeding, lumps, moles, unexplained weight loss, indigestion or heartburn, itchy or yellow skin, tummy or back pain, and feeling tired or unwell."

Because the king can't just disappear from view and cancel all his commitments without explanation.

No she shouldn’t, why the hell should she tell you what’s wrong with her. It is absolutely none of your business.

Give the poor man time... It's a bloody huge shock!

It's nobody's business what the intricate details of their illnesses are. Even royals are entitled to some privacy.

They actually said yesterday that he may reveal later what type of cancer he has, so just be patient while he gets his own head around his diagnosis.

Just because someone has cancer it doesn't mean they have to go around raising awareness of it

It's unlikely that the operation that the Princess of Wales had was routine. There may be more complications so of course she should have her privacy.

No she shouldn't. Her body, her business. No-one else needs to know and if she chooses to keep it private that's up to her. I certainly don't need to know and I can't see that anyone does.

They don't

However, the media (and the Palace) have said that by disclosing he has cancer means he is raising awareness of it.

I am sure most people have heard of cancer.

He has a right to privacy.
He did not need to tell people - but it's understandable that something would have been needed to be said.

I just don't think there is a raising of awareness of it.

Some things are fine to keep private. The type of King's cancer and Kate's abdominal surgery fall into the "fine to keep private" category.