Monarch to Broadcast First-Hand Address on Cancer in Television Broadcast

The Monarch has filmed a first-hand account about his battle with cancer, which will be broadcast as part of this year's annual cancer awareness initiative, spearheaded by medical research organisations and Channel 4.

Buckingham Palace said the King would discuss his "recovery journey" as a person living with the disease, in a video message on Friday at 20:00 GMT.

The recording, filmed within a royal residence a fortnight ago, will highlight the critical nature of preventative health checks to increase the likelihood more people detect the disease at an early stage.

This represents a rare update on the wellbeing of the Monarch, who has been in a course of therapy since revealing his diagnosis in early last year. But it is thought doubtful the King will identify his type of cancer.

Awareness Core Mission

The awareness initiative each year raises funds for clinical trials and patient care and urges people to get screenings to boost the odds of an prompt identification.

The King's public discussion about his illness, and managing the disease, has been designed to increase understanding and to encourage more people to get checked - and this will be escalated with this unusual direct participation.

To date the King's key philosophy to his cancer has been to maintain his duties, upholding a busy schedule despite his regular rounds of care, and he is understood not to have sought to be characterised by his diagnosis.

This year has seen the 77-year-old Monarch, taking several international tours, such as visits to Italy and Canada, and hosting the biggest number of inward state visits to the UK for a generation, which included the German president in recent days.

Charity Broadcast Event

The upcoming charity show on television, hosted by celebrities including Davina McCall, Adam Hills and Clare Balding, will encourage people not to be frightened of getting health screenings.

Each presenter have been personally touched by cancer - Davina McCall revealed in November she had undergone surgery for the disease, while another presenter was diagnosed with a thyroid condition more than 15 years ago. Host Hills has previously discussed his parent, who had stomach cancer and then later leukaemia.

The broadcast will appeal to the approximate 9m people in the UK who charities says are not up to date with public health checks, with an digital tool to let people determine if they are able for screenings for key health indicators.

In an attempt to demystify cancer checks and show the benefit of early diagnosis there will be a live broadcast from treatment centres at medical facilities in Cambridge.

"The goal is to remove the anxiety surrounding preventative tests and prove all people that they are not alone in this," said Davina McCall.

Available National Services

At present in the UK, there are several key NHS cancer screening programmes - for major health concerns - available to certain age groups.

A emerging lung cancer screening programme is also being gradually implemented for people at increased risk of being diagnosed with the illness, specifically targeting people in a specific age bracket, who currently smoke or have smoked in the past.

Individuals may enquire about specific tests, but there is lacking a standardised service in place.

Charitable Impact

The charity project, which has raised over one hundred million pounds for many years, is financing dozens of research studies encompassing many patients.

His Majesty, in a statement for attendees at a gathering for related organisations in April, had spoken of acknowledging the "daunting and at times scary experience" for cancer sufferers and their support networks.

But he noted his personal journey of managing cancer had demonstrated that "the most difficult times of sickness can be brightened by the greatest compassion," as he praised those who cared for those receiving treatment.

The Palace has not made public the specific type of cancer the King has, or the therapies he has undergone. The King's cancer was detected following he had undergone a routine operation.