LBC callers react to King's message to fellow cancer patients

1 May 2025, 10:20

LBC callers react to King's message to fellow cancer patients

On Wednesday evening, Buckingham Palace hosted a reception for guests who are either suffering from cancer or working on a cure for it.

King Charles opened up about his own health battle, and quoted the late Deborah James: “Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope.”

00:00: Emma Campbell, a campaigner, says that it was a 'surprisingly uplifting' event. She knew the late Dame Deborah James, and ran Sunday's London Marathon with her brother and sister, saying that 'her legacy continues with such energy and commitment'.

03:09: Caller Julius was diagnosed in 2019. He met King Charles yesterday and thinks the monarch is 'amazing' to have hosted an event like this 'at his age, and speak to all those people'.

05:11: Caller Mary, 80, says things are different when one is diagnosed at an older age. She learned to 'appreciate everything' - 'what matters is your family'.

08:04: Caller Richard's late wife was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2017, and became friendly with Dame Deborah James, partially due to having the same type of cancer. She is the only person to have swum the English Channel alone while undergoing chemo. He says 'she never let it stop her doing things she wanted to do'.

11:28: 'A room full of heroes is the only way I can describe the children on this ward' - caller Stuart's four-year-old daughter and his wife has cancer, but he says they are curable and looks forward to ringing the bell with them.