'It takes guts': Praise rained on King Charles for his 'remarkable' message on cancer

In a video message in support of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, Charles said that early diagnosis had enabled him to "continue leading a full and active life, even while undergoing treatment" and urged millions to take up available screenings for the disease.

Mr Dimbleby told the BBC: "It's worth just bearing this in mind, in the long context of our relationship with our royal family, it's not very often that a monarch would speak so openly, so directly, about a very personal health issue.

"It's not an easy thing to come and say publicly, 'oh yes, I just want you to know I've got this cancer or that cancer'.

"It takes guts, and the fact that he came out and did that will save lives, and people will be less frightened of saying 'we must go and get a test'."

The broadcaster shared details about his father, the journalist and broadcaster Richard Dimbleby, who died at the age of 52 from testicular cancer at a time when the disease was not openly discussed.

"He'd been too embarrassed by the symptoms of testicular cancer, and he didn't go until it was late in the day when he reported it," Mr Dimbleby told Times Radio.

He continued: "However, he lived on, and he worked flat out until a few months before his death, and in that time, no one knew.

"People said, 'Isn't he looking a bit gaunt?' That was about all there was.

"We've advanced so far from that, but we need to go further, and the King is very, very aware of that.

"Huge advances make it much more likely to live for a long time or cure cancers, but only if people have early treatment."

Discussing the King's commitment to his cancer treatment, Mr Dimbleby said he "wouldn't regard him as a good patient".

The broadcaster said: "I wouldn't regard him as a good patient, in the sense that he says 'oh yes, another day of treatment coming up'.

"On the contrary, he found it irritating.

"It got in the way of his programme, because, you know, he's so aware that the programme matters. He really cares for it."

A key message from the King's message was for people to get scanned for cancer early, as millions are missing the opportunity.

Speaking as part of Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK's joint initiative Stand Up to Cancer UK, the monarch said: "I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming.

"Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams - and, to their patients, the precious gift of hope."

He told viewers that those gifts were ones "we can all help deliver", before praising what he described as the "community of care" surrounding cancer patients.

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