Kate’s diagnosis prompts surge in NHS and cancer charity website visits

Macmillan reported 100,000 online visits to their information pages, while the NHS saw their traffic increase by five-fold

The Princess of Wales’ brave decision to reveal her cancer diagnosis has prompted a huge surge in visits to cancer charity websites and the NHS.

In a video statement issued on Friday evening, Kate announced that she had begun preventative chemotherapy and told other cancer patients: “You are not alone.”

Following her announcement, visits to the NHS website’s cancer information page increased by nearly five-fold, while Macmillan and Cancer Reasearch UK also saw a huge surge in online traffic.

In the 24 hours after her message, there were 2,840 visits to the NHS page, an increase of 373 per cent from the previous week.

Traffic to the NHS page on cancer symptoms also attracted 4,172 visits in the three hours after the video was released, an average of one every three seconds.

Kate announced she had begun cancer treatment last Friday (Independent TV)

Meanwhile, Macmillan’s said there was close to 100,000 visits to information and support pages on their site over the weekend.

The same pages were visited almost 50,000 times in a single day, with Cancer Research reporting a similar “uplift”.

According to Macmillan, more than 1,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day, the equivalent to one person every 90 seconds.

Gemma Peters, Macmillan’s chief executive, said: “In sharing her news, the Princess of Wales has raised awareness of these worries and will be helping to encourage others who have concerns, to visit their GP and seek support.

“Many will be relating to the Prince and Princess of Wales at this time.

“Some of the first thoughts parents have after being diagnosed with cancer are how it may affect their children, and whether talking to them about it will make them worry but it is important to give them the chance to talk openly about their fears.”

Similarly, Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said online traffic increased by more than a 15 per cent on Friday.

Both the Princess of Wales and King Charles are undergoing treatment for cancer (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)

She said: ‘These figures show how high-profile cancer cases can act as a prompt to encourage people to find out more or think about their own health.

‘If people spot something that’s not normal for them or isn’t going away, they should check with their GP. Spotting cancer at an early stage means treatment is more likely to be successful.’

Symptoms for cancer can vary, but can include a lump that suddenly appears, ,changes to bowel habits and unexplained bleeding. On the NHS website, it says that one in two people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, with the most common types being breast, lung, prostate and bowel cancer.

Similar changes to lifestyle can significantly reduce the likelihood of developing cancer, which include healthy eating, not smoking and taking regular exercise.

The Princess of Wales discovered she had cancer after undergoing major abdominal surgery in January, which was not believed to be cancerous.

She told other cancer patients: ‘You are not alone’ (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)

After being discharged from The London Clinic, subsequent tests showed that cancer was present, and she is now in the early stages of chemotherapy treatment.

“This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she said.

“As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to

“George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.

“As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.”