Britain’s monarch, King Charles III was admitted to the private London Clinic in west London after being diagnosed with an enlarged prostate. The monarch had unusually disclosed details of his health condition to encourage other men experiencing similar symptoms to have a medical check.
Buckingham Palace had earlier announced that Charles would begin treatments for “corrective procedure” common with thousands of men over age 50 each year. This comes a week after his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, had an abdominal surgery and is currently undergoing treatment. Her husband Prince William, the heir-to-the-throne, has postponed his engagements to look after their three children
“His Majesty would like to thank all those who have sent their good wishes over the past week and is delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness,” the palace announced.
The palace describes Charles’ condition as benign with his wife, Princess Camilla assuring that he is faring well and will soon be “back to work.” Meanwhile, his public engagements have been held off for a brief period to allow him to properly heal from the procedure.
The king would need to either go through chemotherapy, take medications to stop hormone activity, take radiation therapy, or undergo surgery to avoid further complications. These can be used alone or in combination to treat prostrate cancer.
The British monarchy usually does not reveal intricate details of illnesses affecting royals as matters of health are regarded as private business. The unusual disclosure this time arises from the 75-year-old king’s desire to enlighten male counterparts on the existence and likelihood of the disease and the necessity of monitoring its growth early on.
Prostate cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the prostate, a small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. Early-stage prostate cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms. However, advanced stages could lead to trouble urinating or frequent urination, pain or discomfort in the pelvic area or bone pain.
The state-run National Health Service said there had been a 1,000% increase in visits to its webpage advising on prostate enlargement since Charles’ diagnosis was revealed. On Wednesday, the day of the Palace announcement, the page received 16,410 visits compared with 1,414 visits on Tuesday – a 1061% increase.
In 2021, King Charles III made a virtual visit to Nigeria to learn about the work of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the northeast part of the country. The monarch, who has been a patron of the organisation since January 2020, joined with IRC staff to meet doctors at the Mashamari Stabilisation Centre in Maiduguri who are treating children with malnutrition. Since 2018, the monarch, then prince, has made no physical appearance in Nigeria.
