06 February 2024 , 11:51
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Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer. The monarch wanted to make his diagnosis public because of his long-running support for cancer charities.
It has not been confirmed which form of cancer the monarch is battling. He began "regular treatments" on Monday and will postpone public duties while that is underway, the Palace said. The Monarch, 75, "remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible," it added.
The news came just one week after Charles underwent a prostate procedure at a private London hospital more than a week ago for a "benign" condition.
"It was during this intervention that a separate issue of concern was noted and subsequently diagnosed as a form of cancer," the Palace said. It also confirmed that the King does not have prostate cancer.
It's been a difficult start to the year for Charles following his two diagnoses. We take a look back at some of his previous health battles.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
'Sausage fingers'
In the documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year, which aired Boxing Day, viewers were amused to see King Charles laughing about his swollen 'sausage fingers' during a conversation with son . While closing a clasp that held a robe around his father, remarking, "On the day, that's not going to go in", to which Charles jokingly replied: "No, you haven't got sausage fingers like mine."
Shedding some light on why exactly Charles' fingers appear to be so swollen, GP Chun Tang, Medical Director at Pall Mall Medical in Manchester told : "Often puffy fingers are a symptom of water retention which can be caused by numerous health conditions. This condition arises due to inflammation and can be a result of , multiple bacterial infections or even TB. Other possibilities include high salt levels, allergic reactions, medicinal side effects, injury and autoimmune disease."
The technical term for 'sausage fingers' is dactylitis, which refers to severe swelling that affects a person's fingers and toes. According to a study published in medical journal Dactylitis occurs in 30 per cent to 40 per cent of patients with psoriatic arthritis.
Sporting injuries
A keen polo player in his youth, King Charles clocked up a number of painful sporting injuries, as per the , including breaking his right arm in two places after tumbling from his horse in 1990. The then-prince, who was left with a scar after his painful fall, was also hit in the throat on another occasion, resulting in the loss of his voice for 10 days.
In 1998, Charles fell off a horse again, this time while hunting, which resulted in a cracked rib. The royal, who stopped playing polo in 2005 after 40 years in the game, fell off a horse during another polo match in 2001, this time knocking himself unconscious.
Hernia pun
King Charles showcased his wit in 2003, following a routine hernia operation. Addressing wellwishers outside London's King Edward VII hospital. the now-monarch quipped: "Hernia today, gone tomorrow."
COVID-19
In March 2020, Charles, then 71, caught Covid-19 before vaccinations were available, but only had mild symptoms. He isolated at Birkhall, Aberdeenshire, away from the then-Duchess of Cornwall, who tested negative, and carried on working at his desk.
He lost his sense of taste and smell for a time, and later spoke of the "strange, frustrating and often distressing" experience of being without friends and relatives during lockdown. He caught Covid for a second time in February 2022, but was triple-vaccinated.