His Majesty King Charles III announced as new patron of Cancer Research UK

Today it has been announced that His Majesty King Charles III will become the Patron of Cancer Research UK.

“We are delighted that His Majesty King Charles III has agreed to become our Patron,” said Lord Simon Stevens, Chair of Cancer Research UK.

“As the largest independent funder of cancer science, Cancer Research UK works at the leading edge of progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

“While cancer survival in the UK has doubled in recent decades, nearly 1 in 2 people will now get cancer in their lifetime so the King’s support for our vital mission is hugely welcome.”

Coinciding with the announcement, Their Majesties the King and Queen visited University College Hospital to raise awareness of early diagnosis and highlight some of the innovative research, supported by Cancer Research UK, which is taking place at the hospital.

This visit was His Majesty’s first as the charity’s new Patron.

Whilst there, the King met with Cancer Research UK’s Chief Clinician, Professor Charlie Swanton, who leads TRACERx – a major research initiative involving 250 researchers and clinicians based at 19 centres across the UK.

TRACERx is the single biggest investment in lung cancer research by Cancer Research UK and aims to investigate how lung cancer evolves over time and why treatments sometimes stop working.

During their visit, Their Majesties also learnt about other innovative cancer technologies on offer at University College Hospital, including CT scanners which are being used to help with the early detection of cancer.