'Cancer is not something to be embarrassed of'

Bina Shah was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic

A woman who had breast cancer hopes the King’s decision to share his diagnosis will encourage more people to talk about and get tested for the disease.

On Monday, King Charles III shared the news he had begun treatment for an unspecified type of cancer.

Following the announcement, patients and staff at the cancer charity Penny Brohn UK, near Bristol, have shared their own experiences.

Bina Shah, 61, said: “I think it’s a good thing that the message that is being given out is it is not something to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”

“In the past it may not have been shared so openly,” she added.

Paul Harris said “you learn that you’ve got to live your life”

Paul Harris, 65, from Weston-super-Mare, who has been visiting Penny Brohn for five years, has recently been diagnosed with cancer for a fifth time.

He said: “I was sad to hear the news, but I think it’s good we all know… I hope it helps men to be able to tell people.”

He added that living with cancer is a “journey”.

“I sneezed on Christmas day and cracked a rib,” he added.

“You have to keep going… you learn that you’ve got to live your life.

“I always use Winston Churchill’s ‘never give in’.”

Mr Harris described a “lesson” he learned at Penny Brohn, when he stood from a wheelchair in the garden.

“A wonderful lady said to me ‘feel the grass between your toes, feel the air on your skin and look up at the sky’. That’s all you need,” he said.

Kate Oldham is a cancer rehab therapist at Penny Brohn UK

Kate Oldham, 52, was a cancer rehab therapist before she too was diagnosed with cancer. She still works at Penny Brohn.

Based in Pill, the charity offers both patients and their families a larger support network and holistic services.

Ms Oldham said: “I saw my breast cancer journey as a huge training program… I thought, what can I learn about next?”

She was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, which can be harder to treat and is more aggressive than other forms of cancer.

She said the King’s announcement “raises awareness of significant checks” and will “encourage” people to go to the doctors.

‘A long way to go’

For Mrs Shah, 61, who was diagnosed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and went to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, she said it was a “very isolating” time.

She said the support she has received Penny Brohn is helping her to “find herself”.

But she added: “There’s a long way to go.”