Illness turmoil roils royals

Posted Apr. 4, 2024

Haley Moreschi

Sports Editor

King Charles lll, King of the United Kingdom, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, have been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.

     Buckingham Palace revealed that he had cancer on Feb. 5, following a procedure for a benign enlarged prostate in January, however the cancer is unrelated to this problem. 

     Recently, the United Kingdom has been experiencing a heightening in wait times to diagnose and treat cancers of many forms, leading to cancer cases being diagnosed too late. This is suspected to be a result from years of underfunding and staff shortages. King Charles’ diagnosis has only brought this problem back into conversations.

     Queen Camilla has been attending outings and meetings in place of King Charles while he is receiving outpatient treatments. She states that the King is recovering well and is touched by the letters of support and well wishes he is receiving from the public. 

     “The king is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure,” said the palace in a statement. 

     At the moment, Charles resides at the Sandringham royal estate during his outpatient treatments, where he will recover until he can resume his role in Buckingham Palace. 

     Catherine, the Princess of Wales, also underwent a surgical procedure with which cancer was discovered. Although the kind of cancer has yet to be disclosed, it could be colon, stomach, genital or urinary cancer. This brings up the alarming rate of growth in early-onset cancer diagnosis. Globally, the rate of early-onset cancer has grown by 79.1%, while early-onset cancer deaths have risen by 27.7%. With this rise in risk, there is a sense of urgency to find out what is causing it. Dr. Kimmie Ng, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Institute, last year told the Boston Globe, “People born in 1990 have over double the risk of getting colon cancer compared to those born in 1950. And quadruple the risk of getting rectal cancer.” 

     It comes down to this, though possibly related to genetics, the most likely causes for these early-onset cancer diagnoses could be related to ultra-processed foods, sugary drinks, red meats, alcohol and sleep alterations. All of these things are, especially in these times, easily accessible to today’s youth.

    Uproar on the status of the Princess of Wales began when an altered photo was released by Catherine in March of this year. An image intended to calm the storm speculations and concerns about the royal family, following the Princess’ abdominal operation, did the opposite when people started to notice odd mistakes, such as part of Catheirne’s daughter, Princess Charlotte’s, left sleeve was missing its left tip. Following the photo’s release, Catherine, Princess of Wales, uploaded a video of her announcing her cancer diagnosis, finishing the video off with a positive boost of enlightenment to anyone who may be struggling with something along the lines of her cancer diagnosis.

     “At this time, I’m also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer,” stated the Princess. “For everyone facing this disease in whatever form, please do not lose hope or faith. You are not alone.”