King’s message on cancer ‘will save lives’, friend Jonathan Dimbleby says

King Charles’s message about his cancer recovery was praised as potentially “life-saving” by his friend and authorized biographer Jonathan Dimbleby.

The 81-year-old broadcaster shared his thoughts on the BBC’s Today program on Saturday, after the King announced on Friday that he plans to scale back his cancer treatment in the new year.

In a video message supporting the Stand Up to Cancer campaign, Charles emphasized that early detection allowed him to “continue to live a full and active life, even while receiving treatment” and encouraged millions of others to take part in available screenings for the disease.

“This was an extraordinary thing for a monarch,” Mr Dimbleby told Today.

“Given our long-standing relationship with our royal family, it is worth bearing in mind that it is not often that a monarch speaks so openly and directly about a very personal health issue.

“It’s not an easy thing to come and say to the public, oh yeah, I just want you to know that I have this cancer or that cancer.

“It takes courage and the fact that he came forward and did this will save lives and people will be less afraid to say ‘we need to go and get tested’.”

Mr Dimbleby told Times Radio about his father, Richard Dimbleby, a journalist and broadcaster who died of testicular cancer aged 52, at a time when the disease was not openly discussed.

“He was very embarrassed by the symptoms of his testicular cancer and did not report it until late in the day.

“However, he lived and worked continuously until a few months before his death, and no one knew about this period.

“People said, doesn’t he look a little skinny? That’s all it was.”

“We’ve come so far, but we need to go further and the King is very, very aware of that.

“Major advances make it much more likely to live long or cure cancers, but only if people get treatment early.”

Mr Dimbleby also described the King’s dedication to his cancer treatment despite the disappointment that meant he had to take time away from royal duties.

“I don’t see him as a good patient in the sense that he said, ‘Oh yeah, another day of treatment is coming,'” Mr Dimbleby told Times Radio.

“On the contrary, he found it annoying.

“It gets in the way of his schedule because, you know, he’s so aware that the schedule is important. He really cares about it.”