The Princess of Wales has been praised for "bravely" sharing her cancer diagnosis with the world, as cancer charities have witnessed a surge in online visits in recent days following the announcement.
Last Friday, Princess Kate released a video statement to the world, announcing that she is beginning "preventative chemotherapy" for cancer.
The announcement followed months of conspiracy and speculation from royal fans around the world, questioning the nature of her abdominal surgery in January and her absence from the royal spotlight.
The Princess revealed doctors had "thought her condition was non-cancerous" at the time of the operation, despite it being successful. However, she said, "tests after the operation found cancer had been present".
Professor Gordon Wishart said the Princess was 'brave' to reveal her cancer diagnosis
PA / GB News
As a result of the Princess's statement, record numbers have been visiting cancer charity websites, including Macmillan Cancer Support.
The charity has revealed that they received their highest weekend numbers in four years, with over 100,000 visits to Macmillan’s information and support pages.
The charity saw a similar spike last month following King Charles’ cancer diagnosis when the same pages were visited almost 50,000 times in a single day.
Reacting to the latest figures, Chief Medical Officer at Check4Cancer Professor Gordon Wishart praised the Princess for her openness about her cancer diagnosis.
The Princess of Wales revealed her cancer diagnosis in a statement last week
KensingtonRoyal
Appearing on GB News, Professor Wishart said it was a "great thing" for the Princess to do as cancer education is "hugely important".
Wishart noted that the Princess of Wales being diagnosed aged 42 will be a "huge shock to many people", as many do not realise how common cancer in under 50s is.
In praise of the surge in visits to cancer websites, Professor Wishart said: "I'm glad that people are taking the initiative themselves and looking for this information online. And it's also incredibly positive that the Royal Family are being so open about their health because that gives permission for the rest of us to follow suit.
"Hopefully they will be reading that many of the risk factors that we have thought traditionally increase the risk of cancer and older age and are now some of the same risk factors driving this in the under 50s - things like smoking, alcohol, obesity, a lack of exercise, and poor diets."
Sharing his support for the Princess of Wales following her diagnosis, Wishart told GB News: "I think it's a very brave thing to do. Having a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy under the age of 50 is a challenge for any family.
"They are doing this in full scrutiny worldwide, but it is very brave and hopefully this will stop a lot of the speculation about her being unwell."
Professor Wishart said the Princess is helping to drive a 'huge public health message'
GB News
Professor Wishart told Martin Daubney that he hopes the Royal Family being so open about their cancer diagnoses and treatment will "turn into increased education" about how to recognise the signs and symptoms of cancer.
Wishart added: "If we can try and diagnose cancer at an early stage, that would be a very positive outcome from what has been a very difficult time for them as a family."
Martin agreed, admitting: "I think a lot of people at six o'clock on Friday evening were thrown into quite a dark place, particularly if their lives had been touched by cancer in any way.
"And to have such a quick turnaround to make something so positive, where numbers have been surging upwards, I think it's a tremendous thing."