King Charles is having cancer treatment. What can he, and others with cancer, expect?
The type of cancer has not been revealed, but it has been confirmed it is not prostate cancer.
- The type of cancer has not been revealed, but it has been confirmed it is not prostate cancer.
- So what can King Charles and the millions of others who are newly diagnosed with cancer each year expect?
What actually is cancer?
- Normally, cells multiply and die in a regulated way, so each new cell replaces a cell that is lost.
- The cancer cells can break away and travel through the bloodstream or lymph vessels to other parts of the body.
- If the primary cancer cells grow and form another tumour at a new site, it is called a secondary cancer or metastasis.
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How does cancer spread to other parts of the body?
Millions of new cases each year
- And King Charles’ diagnosis is one of roughly 19.3 million new cases of cancer diagnosed worldwide each year.
- The most common cancers can vary between countries, due to a number of factors such as genetics, lifestyle and environment.
- In Australia, for example, the most common cancers are prostate, breast, skin melanoma, colorectal cancer and lung cancer.
Cancer accounts for 1 in 6 deaths
- Worldwide, leading cancer-related deaths are from lung, colorectal, stomach, breast, pancreatic, oesophageal, prostate and liver cancer.
- In 2023, there were roughly 165,000 cases of cancer diagnosed and 51,000 cancer deaths in Australia.
But more people are surviving cancer
- Advances in medicine and treatments for cancer have led to more people surviving cancer.
- This therapy destroys cancer cells using a controlled dose of radiation to kill or damage cancer cells so they cannot grow, multiply or spread, while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.
- There is also “CAR T-cell therapy”, which harnesses the body’s own immune system to fight against cancer.
- Thanks to COVID, mRNA technology and other nanoparticle delivery systems are also an area yielding promising results for cancer vaccines.
Do treatments work?
- With such new treatments, cancer survival rates have improved significantly.
- In Australia, for example, five-year survival rates improved from 52% to 70% from 1989–1993 to 2014–2018.
In a nutshell
King Charles’ cancer diagnosis, at the age of 75, is one of millions of new cancer diagnoses globally. While cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, survival rates are improving thanks to extensive advances in treatments and treatment options.
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What happens if King Charles can no longer perform his duties?
Sathana Dushyanthen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.