New Royal Cancer Details Emerge After Charles & Kate’s Diagnoses—Doctors ‘Nearly Lost’ the 3rd Royal Twice
The British royal family has had its share of health scares in the past few years. Kate Middleton battled cancer and is now in remission. King Charles is still battling an undisclosed form of cancer, though he has indicated he is doing better. And now there are reports that the two of them might not have been the only ones in the family to fight the disease.
RadarOnline is reporting that Prince Philip not only lived with cancer during his final years, but also almost died twice after undergoing secret heart surgery in 2021. In the new book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, Hugo Vickers writes, “The Duke of Edinburgh, then aged 99, was admitted to the Edward VII Hospital in London for tests.”
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“On March 1, he was moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where he had an operation on his heart. His medical team nearly lost him twice.” The book does not specify if his heart issues had anything to do with the cancer diagnosis.
The Duke of Edinburgh survived the surgery, but his health never recovered, and he passed away in April 2021. And Vickers also claims that Prince Philip was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013, eight years before his death. At the time, according to the biographer, he wasn’t expected to make any more public appearances. “But, as ever, the Duke outwitted the pessimists,” Vickers wrote.
Experts have questioned the likelihood of long survival with this particular type of cancer. A medical expert told the outlet, “An eight-year survival in what is described as inoperable pancreatic cancer would be considered highly unusual – it immediately raises questions about the specific type of tumor involved and whether it behaved differently from the most common forms.”
Another one added, “When you see survival on that scale, clinicians would typically consider whether it was a less aggressive subtype, rather than the more typical and fast-progressing cancers associated with the pancreas.”
“There are forms of pancreatic cancer that behave very differently – some grow slowly and can be managed over several years, even when they are not considered operable in the traditional sense,” a source said.
“Doctors had detected a shadow on his pancreas, and had cut him right across his stomach,” Vickers wrote in the book. “The verdict was inoperable pancreatic cancer.”
“The standard form of pancreatic cancer is extremely aggressive and often detected at an advanced stage, which is why survival rates remain so low despite advances in treatment,” a medical source told RadarOnline. “The pancreas is located deep within the abdomen, and early symptoms are often vague, meaning diagnosis frequently comes too late for curative intervention.”
Patients sometimes die within months of the diagnosis.
The British royal family has not confirmed if Prince Philip had cancer before his death or what kind of cancer he could have had. They have also not confirmed what type of cancer King Charles is battling right now.
