King to Deliver First-Hand Statement on Illness in TV Address
His Majesty has recorded a first-hand account about his battle with cancer, which will be broadcast as part of this year's Stand Up To Cancer drive, spearheaded by medical research organisations and a major network.
The royal household said the King would talk about his "path to recovery" as a individual battling cancer, in a televised statement on Friday at 8pm UK time.
The address, filmed within Clarence House two weeks ago, will highlight the vital significance of preventative health checks to increase the likelihood more people detect the disease at an initial point.
This will be a infrequent public commentary on the health of the Sovereign, who has been receiving ongoing care since the news was shared in early last year. But it is thought unlikely the King will specify his specific form of cancer.
The Campaign's Central Purpose
The annual charity campaign each year collects money for clinical trials and therapies and encourages people to get health assessments to improve the probability of an early diagnosis.
The King's candid approach about his illness, and living with cancer, has been designed to increase understanding and to encourage more people to get screened - and this will be advanced with this unique royal involvement.
To date the King's primary strategy to his cancer has been to keep working, maintaining a busy schedule despite his regular rounds of care, and he seems not to have sought to be overshadowed by his diagnosis.
The past twelve months has seen the King, 77, embarking on several foreign visits, including to Italy and Canada, and hosting the largest volume of inward state visits to the UK for almost 40 years, which included the German president last week.
The Televised Special Show
This Friday's charity show on Channel 4, featuring celebrities such as Davina McCall, Adam Hills and Clare Balding, will urge people not to be scared of getting preventative tests.
Each presenter have been affected by cancer - Davina McCall said last month she had undergone surgery for breast cancer, while Balding was diagnosed with the illness in the past. Comedian Hills has previously discussed his father, who had one form of cancer and then later leukaemia.
The programme will reach out to the roughly 9m people in the UK who Cancer Research UK estimate are not current with NHS screening schemes, with an online checker to let people check if they are eligible for screenings for several common cancers.
In an bid to clarify cancer checks and demonstrate the value of prompt detection there will be a direct feed from hospital departments at medical facilities in Cambridge.
"I want to remove the anxiety surrounding cancer screening and prove all people that they are not alone in this," said a presenter.
Available Health Checks
Right now in the UK, there are three national health screening services - for bowel, breast and cervical cancer - available to specific demographics.
A recently launched lung cancer screening programme is also being slowly rolled out for people at high risk of developing the illness, specifically targeting people of a certain age, who currently smoke or have smoked in the past.
Male patients may discuss specific tests, but there is not a universal scheme operational.
Ongoing Efforts
The charity initiative, which has collected £113m over the past decade, is funding 73 medical projects with many patients.
The Monarch, in a message for attendees at a event for related organisations in the spring, had referred to recognising the "daunting and at times alarming situation" for patients and their loved ones.
But he stated his first-hand encounter of managing cancer had shown him that "periods of great challenge of sickness can be brightened by the kindness of others," as he thanked those who supported cancer patients.
The Palace has not disclosed what kind of cancer the King has, or the medical care he has been given. The King's cancer was detected following he had received a routine operation.