King Charles’ cancer was caught early, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Tuesday. Sunak added that the nation is hopeful the king can make a full recovery.
Buckingham Palace officials announced on Monday that the 75-year-old king had a “form of cancer” and would postpone his public appearances to receive treatment.
The palace added that Charles was “wholly positive” and looking forward to returning to public work as soon as possible.
Charles has been king for less than 18 months. He became king following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth.
He is planning to continue his weekly meetings with the prime minister and dealing with state papers.
Charles’ son, Prince William is first in line to the throne. He is expected to fill in for some of Charles’ duties. His younger son Prince Harry, who has a troubled relationship with the family, arrived Tuesday from California to visit the king.
Sunak said he had been “shocked and sad” at the news.
“All our thoughts are with him and his family. You know, thankfully, this has been caught early,” Sunak told BBC radio.
Sunak said he was in regular contact with the king. “That will of course continue as normal,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his concern on Monday and said he planned to call the king later.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on the social media service X: “We’re sending him our very best wishes – and hoping for a fast and full recovery.”
Cancer discovery
The cancer was discovered recently when Charles stayed three nights in the hospital. At the time, he was undergoing a medical procedure for a non-cancerous enlarged prostate.
Buckingham Palace officials have said he does not have prostate cancer. But they did not give any additional details about the kind of cancer the king has.
The British royal family usually keeps medical issues private. But the palace said Charles wanted to make his diagnosis public. He is a backer of several cancer-related charities.
Charles’ treatment will likely draw attention to the long waiting times for cancer patients under Britain’s state-run National Health Service (NHS).
Survival rates for cancer in Britain are lower than those of other European countries. A January NHS report shows that Britain is behind for nine out of 10 of the most common kinds of cancer.
I’m Andrew Smith.
Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Reuters and Associated Press news reports.
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Words in This Story
positive – adj. hopeful or optimistic
diagnosis – n. statement or identifying an illness