During a visit to a newly established specialist medical center, King Charles, 77, emphasized the importance of open communication for cancer patients. Despite currently undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer diagnosed in 2024, the King received a warm welcome with cheers and applause. He interacted with both patients and staff involved in the £2.4 million renovation of the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Cancer Centre. Since 1997, Charles has been a patron of Macmillan Cancer Support, an organization dedicated to providing comprehensive support to those affected by cancer.
King Charles Meets Cancer Patients in York
Among those he met was Louise Rhodes from Hopgrove, York, who is living with stage 4 secondary breast cancer and played a role in the center’s design and development. Accompanied by her mother, Diana Ellison, she shared with the King the loss of her father in 2024. When asked by the King if it was due to cancer, she confirmed. “It’s everywhere,” he remarked. Louise expressed how the center had been a significant support system for her family. The King acknowledged this, stating, “It’s so important to be able to talk.” Upon his arrival, he was greeted with cheers from nurses, doctors, and patients gathered at a side entrance, before being welcomed by Clare Smith, the chief executive of York Hospital, and Gemma Peters, the chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Monarch Praises Patients Who Helped Shape Cancer Hub
The King was then guided to the center’s newly designed garden, where he received a warm welcome from Lady Halifax, a close friend. Lady Halifax and her husband, Lord Halifax, are key donors to the hospital and the new center, set to officially open in July. She introduced the King to Angie Lunt from Riccall, York, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and participated in the community engagement group that developed the center’s plans. “This is one of the most amazing women you’ll meet,” Lady Halifax told him. Addressing Ms. Lunt, the King praised her involvement, saying, “So they consulted you on all the details to make it all most effective? Well done you.”
The King was joined in the garden by Colm Gough, the Macmillan personalised cancer care lead, to plant a yellow ‘Macmillan rose’ which Charles dug around with a spade to cover its roots in soil. He told Charles: ‘We’ve been going on making silly NHS decisions and Angie’s been reminding us of what’s really needed.’ More than 70 local people with experience of cancer fed into the new centre’s designs. During his visit, the King met people living with cancer for whom the centre had been a ‘lifeline’ during treatment and heard about their roles in shaping the new facility, including the services it will offer and its design, from the layout and the furniture, to the colour schemes and the artwork with the aim of making it a calming, welcoming space.
As he made his way through the hospital corridors, shaking hands with staff and patients and asking people how they were faring in the heat, Charles was mobbed by well-wishers wanting to take pictures and film him on their phones. Hundreds of people gathered in the main reception to see him, where he met more Macmillan nurses and the charity’s fundraising staff. After the visit, Ms Lunt said: ‘When I was going through cancer, the centre was an absolute lifeline. It was pivotal in my recovery, helping me manage ongoing health issues and supporting my mental wellbeing. I can’t stress enough how important these centres are.
‘They offer a safe, welcoming, non‑clinical space, somewhere to sit, reflect, and come to terms with a diagnosis before returning home. Support services like this are essential to coping with cancer, both during treatment and long after. We need places like this now and in the future for anyone affected by cancer. ‘I’m proud to have used my experience to help shape something that will make such a difference to so many people going forward.’ Ms Peters, Macmillan’s chief executive, said: ‘We were delighted to welcome our patron, His Majesty the King, to see this community led approach in action. ‘His planting of a Macmillan rose in the garden felt especially fitting, a lasting symbol of hope, like the centre, that will continue to grow and bring comfort to people for many years to come.
‘There isn’t fair access to good cancer care across the region, and this centre is a big step towards making support more accessible and fairer for everyone.’ Ms Rhodes said: ‘Being involved in the redesign of the centre has been massively important to both me and my mum, as the centre has been critical in supporting both of us since my original breast cancer diagnosis in 2012. When the original cancer care centre closed due to the pandemic, I was devastated. ‘My safe haven was gone overnight. When you are living with cancer, you and your loved ones need a place where you can get endless support and information, see a friendly face, have a decent cuppa and relax in comfy chairs.
‘To be able to sit with other people or just sit quiet alone, all in a place which doesn’t feel clinical like the rest of the hospital. ‘This is what I hope for in the future of the York Macmillan cancer care centre. My cancer is incurable, I will be a cancer patient for the rest of my life, so I very much look forward to seeing this new Macmillan centre bigger than before but still with the same original heart.’ York Hospital, part of the York and Scarborough teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation trust, is the base for over 60 Macmillan professionals, including over 40 cancer nurse specialists and Support Officers, to provide support to thousands of people living with cancer in the region each year.
