King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer at the age of 75, Buckingham Palace announced Monday, February 5, 2024.
Although the palace said the prognosis is good, the diagnosis is concerning given the monarch’s age.
As Dr. Angela Rai explains to GB News, the risk of developing cancer increases significantly with age.
What cancer has the King got?
According to Dr. Rai, the majority of cancer cases occur in people over the age of 50, and a third occur in people over the age of 75.
She notes that the most common cancers in men after age 50 are prostate, colorectal, lung, bladder, and skin melanoma.
Dr. Rai outlines several reasons why older age makes people more susceptible.
As we age, there is more time for genetic damage to accumulate in cells, increasing the likelihood that some will become cancerous.
Lifestyle factors also come into play. An older person has more years of exposure to cancer risk factors such as smoking, obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity and alcohol consumption.
In addition to controlling controllable risk factors, Dr. Rai advises people over the age of 50 to undergo regular screening tests to detect cancer early.
When cancer is detected in its early stages, treatment is often easier and more effective.
Could King Charles refuse chemotherapy?
In an interview for GB News, royal biographer Tom Bower made the surprising claim that King Charles could refuse conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy because of his long-standing support for alternative medicine.
Although chemotherapy and radiation are standard medical treatments for cancer, Bower fears that shunning these conventional options in favor of alternative remedies “won’t provide the cure which conventional medicine would.”
However, Buckingham Palace has not released specifics about King Charles’ diagnosis, beyond confirming that he has some form of the disease, nor has it indicated what treatment pathway he will follow.