'You don't have to be a lunatic royalist to praise Charles for his brave act'

29 January 2024 , 19:41

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King Charles received treatment at the London Clinic (Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

You know me. I’m no ­royalist.

But their activities and attitudes do concern me, much like if I were to get into a taxi and spot either a crack pipe or a half-empty bottle of gin in the front passenger seat. King Charles, however, is actively spreading awareness of prostate cancer and firing up a desperately needed conversation among men.

It goes without saying that this column wishes His Majesty all the very best as he recovers from his operation for an enlarged prostate. Yours truly is among the many men currently ambling off to the loo more often during the night. Visits to the restroom take a little longer and also act as a reminder that another finger up the bum is necessary to check all is well with my long-term health. Research from Prostate Cancer UK shows that Black men have a one in four risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. For everyone else it is one in eight. Men of Black ethnicity die of the condition at a much higher rate.

Charles left hospital on Monday (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

Yet it is far from the top of our ­conversation list with football, work, politics, money, our social lives, our kids, the car and goodness knows what else all ranking as higher priorities. Enter the King. On Monday morning you couldn’t move for informative TV shows discussing prostate cancer, the symptoms, what they mean and how to treat them.

If they result in saving at least one life then that airtime will have been worthwhile. Listen, the King is 75. He is far from the first high-profile individual to need surgery for his prostate. But the blanket coverage for his condition means us men are getting information on it whether we want it or not.

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Women are said to be far more comfortable discussing the need for, say, regular smear tests and breast examinations for cancer and the kind of things that could cost them their lives, because they are so much more used to intimate, invasive procedures as a matter of course. That men aren’t is not an excuse. The Polymerase Spiral Reaction [PSR] blood test is designed to help detect prostate cancer. But it’s not perfect and will not find all prostate cancers. So if all it takes is a finger up the bum to ensure your well-being, then why not?

For the record, King Charles is said to be “doing well” after his treatment at the London Clinic private hospital. Following the disclosure, the NHS website saw a surge in searches about enlarged prostates. A statement from Buckingham Palace said the King was “delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness”. You don’t have to be a flag-waving, tub-thumping, camp-out-on-the-streets-like-a- lunatic royalist to grasp the ­significance of that awareness. Book the tests, have the checks. I’ll be in the queue in front of you.

Darren Lewis