King Charles sends touching letter to Scots OAP thanking him for revealing penile cancer diagnosis

Roger Cartwright received a letter of thanks from the King after sharing his cancer diagnosis.

A man has received a moving letter of thanks from the King - after sharing his diagnosis of penile cancer.

Roger Cartwright, 76, was diagnosed with penile cancer in 2012 undergoing surgery to attempt to remove a tumour just days after his diagnosis. He had numerous surgeries before his consultant suggested a vaccine trial - which Roger says has slowed the cancer down significantly.

As Roger, a radio host and retired academic, adapted to living with cancer, he also struggled to talk about his condition due to its sensitive nature.

However, after a local newspaper approached him, Roger decided to share his story publicly, in the hopes of reducing the stigma around penile (cancer of the penis) and similar cancers.

After King Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis in February this year, Roger wrote a short letter of thanks to the palace, expressing his support - and was thrilled to receive a unique response in September.

"Penile cancer is quite rare, and it's not the kind of thing that you discuss at a dinner party - although nowadays I do," said Roger, who is also a former Royal Naval reserve officer.

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"It's one of those things you don't tend to be very open about. I had been having problems for quite some time, and the symptoms began to gradually get worse. My consultant in Dundee said he wasn't happy and sent me to see a specialist - the only one who can deal with cancer of this kind in Scotland.

"I was booked to do a half a world cruise from Singapore to Dover as a maritime history speaker and said this to the doctor. He said that he would have to operate, as a tumour was developing in the urethra. I said that would be alright, I'll be back in three months, and we can operate then. He told me, "no, you'll be back in in three days" - which is what happened.

"That was the first of many operations to try and get rid of this cancer. Finally, the same surgeon said he wanted to try something different, with my permission.

"He wanted to try injecting me with a vaccine they usually give to teenage girls, because that might slow down the cancer. At that time, they were talking about amputation, which I wasn't particularly happy with the idea of. As an academic, I thought that if it doesn't work, we'll learn as much by doing it than if it does work. I decided to go ahead.

"It did slow things down considerably. It will never go away, but I've got a very good consultant who is keeping an eye on me."

Roger, who also suffered two strokes in 2019, explained that he hadn't wanted to go public with his diagnosis, but his mind was changed after his doctor urged him to raise awareness.

After his local newspaper published a story about his experience with cancer, Roger was shocked by the number of people who reached out to support him. After King Charles also spoke publicly about the illness, Roger was eager to thank him for his honesty.

"I hadn't particularly wanted an article about my penile cancer broadcast to the world, but then I had a word with my consultant," Roger said.

"He said, I wish you would - more people should be talking about these things and checking themselves. He said he'd be really happy if I agreed to do the article, so I did.

"I was amazed at the number of people who then got in touch with the newspaper and with me and said thank you very much for putting this out. It was quite humbling.

"When news about King Charles and Princess Catherine came out, I thought that it was fantastic of them. I was able to do a little bit, but they can do far more by speaking about it. Like many people, I wrote him a little note wishing them well.

"I included my experience and said that I was particularly glad that the King had decided to do this, because what he said will have far more resonance than anything I can ever do. I thanked him and thought nothing more about that."

On 11 September, Roger, and his beloved wife of 52 years, June, received a letter through their door - addressed to Lt. Cdr. Roger Cartwright.

Roger joked that he might have been "called up to fight Putin" - before opening the letter and revealing a touching letter, wishing him well and thanking him for his work.

"I was moved to get a more personal response from the Palace than I would have ever expected," said Roger.

"There's normally a standard response to letters - and if I'd expected any response, I'd have expected something like that. It was from Buckingham Palace - and it wasn't addressed to Doctor Cartwright, it was addressed to Lieutenant Commander. But then three weeks ago, an envelope popped through the door. I said to my wife - what if they're calling me up to fight Putin?

"It wasn't the standard response. There was one particular paragraph that the King had heard that I'd been unwell and was encouraged by my positive outlook. It said that he was especially touched to hear about my spreading awareness of cancer signs and symptoms.

"I was touched that the King would share his problems with the world - because it wouldn't have happened when I was young. I think that what the King has done is going to be incredibly useful to a lot of cancer sufferers - and the same with Princess Kate.

"If this can encourage anyone to see a doctor, who's worried about getting checked out because it's personal and they don't want anyone to know, then I've done my little bit. I think we've got to be more open, otherwise people just hide it."

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