Sovereign to Share Personal Address on His Health Battle in Television Address

His Majesty has filmed a intimate address about his battle with cancer, which will be broadcast as part of this year's Stand Up To Cancer campaign, run by a leading cancer charity and a major network.

Official sources said the King would talk about his "recovery journey" as a cancer patient, in a recorded address on this Friday at the evening slot.

The address, filmed within a royal residence recently, will highlight the importance of preventative health checks to increase the likelihood more people catch the condition at an early stage.

This constitutes a rare update on the medical condition of the Sovereign, who has been undergoing regular treatment since his condition was announced in early last year. Analysts suggest unlikely the King will disclose his type of cancer.

Awareness Core Mission

The Stand Up To Cancer campaign each year collects money for medical research and patient care and urges people to get health assessments to increase the odds of an prompt identification.

The King's relative openness about his illness, and his experience as a patient, has been aimed to raise awareness and to persuade more people to get checked - and this will be taken a step further with this unique direct participation.

Up until now the King's main approach to his cancer has been to keep working, maintaining a hectic timetable alongside his regular rounds of therapy, and he is understood not to have desired to be characterised by his illness.

This year has seen the Sovereign, embarking on several overseas trips, including to Italy and Canada, and hosting the largest volume of official guests to the UK for decades, including the German president in recent days.

Charity Broadcast Event

The upcoming charity programme on Channel 4, presented by celebrities like Davina McCall, Adam Hills and Clare Balding, will urge people not to be frightened of getting preventative tests.

All three have been personally touched by cancer - one host disclosed recently she had received treatment for breast cancer, while Clare Balding was diagnosed with a thyroid condition more than 15 years ago. Host Hills has previously mentioned his parent, who had a diagnosis and then later leukaemia.

The broadcast will appeal to the roughly 9m people in the UK who health organisations says are not compliant with NHS screening schemes, with an website to let people determine if they are qualified for screenings for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.

In an bid to demystify health tests and illustrate the benefit of early diagnosis there will be a live broadcast from hospital departments at medical facilities in Cambridge.

"My aim is to take the fear out of health checks and demonstrate everyone that they are not isolated in this," stated Davina McCall.

Available National Services

Right now in the UK, there are a number of NHS cancer screening programmes - for major health concerns - accessible for eligible individuals.

A recently launched lung cancer screening programme is also being phased in for individuals at high risk of being diagnosed with the disease, primarily aimed at people in a specific age bracket, who have a smoking history or used to.

Male patients may request prostate cancer checks, but there is not a universal scheme operational.

Funding Research

The fundraising project, which has raised a significant sum for many years, is supporting dozens of clinical trials involving 13,000 patients.

King Charles, in a address for dignitaries at a reception for support groups in the spring, had discussed understanding the "daunting and at times alarming experience" for cancer sufferers and their loved ones.

But he noted his first-hand encounter of coping with cancer had shown him that "periods of great challenge of disease can be brightened by the support of carers," as he praised those who looked after those receiving treatment.

The Palace has not made public what kind of cancer the King has, or the therapies he has received. The King's cancer was identified subsequent to he had had a routine operation.