King Charles reflects on cancer journey saying it’s important patients can talk

The King, who is still receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, met cancer patients and staff at the new redeveloped Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Cancer Centre at York Hospital today

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The King chats to medical staff at the newly redeveloped Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Cancer Centre at York Hospital(Image: James Glossop/The Times/PA Wire)

The King spoke of the importance of being able to talk as a cancer patient, noting the disease is ‘everywhere’ during a visit to a cancer centre.

Charles, 77, who is still receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer he was diagnosed with in 2024, was cheered and applauded during his visit today to a cancer unit at York Hospital.

There, he met cancer patients and staff who have worked on the £2.4million redevelopment of the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Cancer Centre, which will officially open in July. Charles has been patron of Macmillan Cancer Support since 1997, the charity which provides wraparound support to those affected by cancer.

 

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Patients and hospital staff come out to greet the King (Image: James Glossop/The Times/PA Wire)

 

Arriving at the hospital, he was cheered by nurses, doctors and patients who had gathered at a side entrance, before being welcomed by Clare Smith, chief executive of York hospital, and Gemma Peters, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support.

He was then shown the centre’s new garden, where he was greeted with a kiss by his good friend, Lady Halifax. She and her husband Lord Halifax, are major donors to the hospital and the new centre.

Lady Halifax introduced him to Angie Lunt, from Riccall in York, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, and was part of the community engagement group, which developed plans for the centre.

“This is one of the most amazing women you’ll meet,” she told him. Speaking to Ms Lunt, the King said: “So they consulted you on all the details to make it all most effective? Well done, you.” The King was joined in the garden by Colm Gough, the Macmillan personalised cancer care lead, to plant a yellow “Macmillan rose” which Charles dug around with a spade to cover its roots in soil.

 

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The King plants a tree in the centre’s new garden (Image: Getty Images)

 

During his visit, the King also met people living with cancer for whom the centre had been a “lifeline” during treatment and heard about their roles in shaping the new facility. They included Louise Rhodes, from Hopgrove in York, who is living with stage four secondary breast cancer and was involved in the centre’s design and development.

Meeting the King with her mother, Diana Ellison, she told the King how she had lost her father in 2024. “To cancer?” he asked her. “Yes,” she replied. “It’s everywhere,” he said.

She spoke of how the centre had been a major support to her and her family throughout. “It’s so important to be able to talk,” he told her.

As he made his way through the hospital corridors, shaking hands with staff and patients and asking people how they were faring in the heat, Charles was mobbed by well-wishers wanting to take pictures and film him on their phones.

 

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Charles chats to cancer support workers at the centre today(Image: James Glossop/The Times/PA Wire)

 

Hundreds of people gathered in the main reception to see him, where he met more Macmillan nurses and the charity’s fundraising staff.

After the visit, Ms Lunt said: “When I was going through cancer, the centre was an absolute lifeline. It was pivotal in my recovery, helping me manage ongoing health issues and supporting my mental wellbeing. I can’t stress enough how important these centres are. They offer a safe, welcoming, non‑clinical space, somewhere to sit, reflect, and come to terms with a diagnosis before returning home.

“Support services like this are essential to coping with cancer, both during treatment and long after. We need places like this now and in the future for anyone affected by cancer. I’m proud to have used my experience to help shape something that will make such a difference to so many people going forward.”

 

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Earlier Charles visited a conservation initiative that is trying to humanely control grey squirrel numbers and support the endangered red squirrel population in the UK(Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

 

The King’s visit to the centre came after he was earlier in the day praised for his “innate understanding that we need to be in harmony with nature”, as he visited a project aimed at promoting red squirrels by limiting their grey cousins’ numbers using contraceptives.

In sweltering temperatures close to 30C, Charles wore a light grey, pin-striped suit, pink shirt and darker pink tie as he met staff at the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s York Biotech Campus.

He talked to scientists and volunteers who explained the various stages of the project to develop a method of delivering oral contraceptives to grey squirrels through a feeding programme, as part of efforts to slow the rate of the species’ population growth and help endangered red squirrels to thrive.

The King was also shown round the large pens where dozens of squirrels are bred and kept for the project, but none of them ventured out of their boxes to greet the royal visitor in the intense heat.

Dr Julie Lane, head of the National Wildlife Management Centre at the APHA, told Charles: “What a wonderful day you’ve given us. You’ve been championing our red squirrels for decades now, which is why we’ve been so keen to show you the work we’ve been doing here at the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Without you, this work would not be happening at all.”