King Charles reveals his cancer treatment can be scaled back to ‘precautionary’ in the New Year.

I understand FGT I had eighteen months of watching my DH struggle trying to fight the cancer. It does feel lonely.
Glad to hear King Charles is doing well.
My DD works at the Christie hospital in the research part. She cares for people on the trials. Those people who the NHS can no longer help agree to undertake new treatments.

They have had successes and new treatments become available through research.

Whitewavemark2

I’m watching the following television programme.

You can’t put a price on the NHS

Oh I think you can!
And when old people are left on trolleys in draughty corridors with no dignity or privacy and operations are cancelled for the third time, and there’s over a year to wait to even get to see a consultant once referred, then it’s hard to see that we get value for money.
King Charles will have had the best of private care that money can buy, for anything, not just cancer.

Oreo my husband finally went to hospital 2 days ago to have a filter removed. It was put in following his stroke Nov 24 and should have been removed after a couple of months. We have spent most of this past year chasing up an appointment and patients do not need to be doing this.

That’s just terrible Primrose53 tho can’t say am surprised!

That's awful Primrose. Dreadful. I can see we've been lucky reading some posts. I am sitting in a hospital waiting room at the moment (again). DH is having a procedure on his eye. We arrived early, they have called him on early. He got a cancellation so once again, lucky.

I think the NHS can sadly be something of a post code lottery.
We have the Christie (fabulous) 20 minutes up the A roads. And a contact number for the Crisis Line which we have needed 3 times this year with my husband being 999 admissions.

Cancer scares everyone. It takes its toll in so many ways.

FGT.

FGT

AGAA4 Thank you to your DD and all those working on vital research and to all those volunteers who agree to go on the trials too.

Thank you Allira I will pass that on to my DD.
There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to help people with this awful disease.
My DH was finally diagnosed almost 30 years ago. He saw many doctors who failed to recognise the symptoms. Prostate cancer is being caught much earlier and I know some men who have been cured in the last few years.

I remember a friend's father being diagnosed with prostate cancer about 30 years ago. He had hormone treatment as far as I know.
We saw him shopping in Tesco the other day 🙂

I understand too fgt. You’ve absolutely nailed it with feelings description in your post xx

Good for him but he has had the very best immediate medical support. Not so for many on the NHS.

Kate1949

The King's message will hopefully encourage more people to get screened and be of some comfort to sufferers and their families. My husband, who is in remission 🤞 from prostate cancer, says it would help more if he had said what type of cancer he has. His choice of course. Cancer is certainly a rough ride.

Like your husband, I initially wondered why the Royal Family did not disclose the type of cancers they had. But I would think it’s because, if they did, then other people with the same thing might assume that their own illness would progress in the same way which of course is not the case. I think it stops people worrying so much and asking too many questions.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

KC said “Hard work and positive thinking”
Hmm.
That bit is a hard stone to swallow.

My husband is 4 years younger than KC and is so weak and fatigued with chemotherapy he doesn’t get dressed most days it’s too much of an effort and he is not a lazy man.

I suppose there are so many variables. Such as ‘what stage’ for example. My husband has Stage IV with metastases. Treatment is brutal it has to be.

Perhaps (and we will never know) KC is Stage I or II? Caught earlier? More gentle chemo albeit administered weekly? A top oncologist on speed dial for any anxieties?

There is no way my husband could dress up in uniform, medals and regalia, have a late dinner with dignitaries, get on a flight for example.

And “hard work”? It honestly floors my husband to the extent that he sleeps for hours during the day. It’s a lonely life, sitting quietly, watching him. And worrying.

Camilla won’t know the half of it.

But does it make me bitter? Of course not. Taking away someone else’s joy isn’t going to improve our situation one bit so I’m very happy for KC and all his family this Christmas.

I think going through the treatment is hard work. The other things are incidental.

Cancer care seems to be a postcode lottery.....I've had primary breast cancer 3 times and I cannot fault any of my treatment....I was under the wonderful clatterbridge cancer care ......I was seen in less than 2 weeks each time and then once diagnosed had my surgery in less than 2 weeks each time ( the last time was 2020 in covid and I was booked into a private hospital an nhs patient and had surgery in 4 days) ....I spoke with people who had gone private and they had waited longer than me for surgery .

Let’s face it cancer is a bastard 🤬🤬🤬

No matter who glad treatment is going to plan and being effective. The media has highlighted all the trips the King has undertaken since his diagnosis I wonder what his travel insurance cost. By highlighting them all it makes the average person going through a similar experience as almost pathetic if not flying here, there and everywhere. Even if feeling well enough the travel insurance cost would be horrendous, if able to be purchased at all.

Wonderful news for the King , his family and the country.
He may be king but he's still also a person and it must take great courage to face and deal with this disease.

I’m pleased the King shared his cancer diagnosis. It seems to have been caught at a very early stage and before it metastasised. The message as he stressed, is early diagnosis and treatment are likely to help.

I don’t agree with yiu 4allwekmow that highlighting his trips since diagnosis makes the average person ….feel almost pathetic if not flying here, there and everywhere.

FGT, your posts tell it like it is. My husband was a Christie patient. We are lucky to have this special hospital in our area. Thanks to all the staff and research there

Sadly, my husband appeared fit and well until a devastating stage four diagnosis. Despite the treatment and care at The Christie, he died six months after diagnosis. Cancer is a dreadful disease

Obviously some cancers are more debilitating than others. As I said, my husband has prostate cancer, which I suspect is what the King has. After several weeks of treatment, it hasn't curtailed my husband's normal activities at all. We went abroad this year and reasonably priced travel insurance wasn't too difficult to find.

I'm pleased that King Charles has progressed enough to be able to have his treatment scaled back. Fortunate that his cancer was caught really early.
He has coped well & "carried on carrying on".

My own DH was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. Despite having regular screening blood tests, & being seen by urology dr's, unfortunately it had already spread to his bones.
He continues on hormone treatment, recently had 6 weeks radiotherapy (to hopefully make the hormone treatment work longer). He's now waiting to have acupuncture to help combat the side effects of the hormone treatment.

My thoughts with FGT, & others as we give what support we can. x

FGT

I applaud your ‘not bitter’ feelings.

It must be so easy to think ‘why me?’/‘it’s not fair’/‘it’s all right for him, wealth, doctors, no waiting etc etc’./

But it doesn’t alter anything, feeling bitter, it’s commendable to feel pleased for another’s good fortune.

FGT 😢❤️

The government should ensure that all patients get access to the same level of medical care that KC has had. Nothing less is acceptable.