Cancer charities have reported an increase in website visitors since the Princess of Wales publicly shared her cancer diagnosis last Friday 22 March.
Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) both reported increases in traffic, with the former saying that its online information and support pages were at the highest weekend levels since the first Covid lockdown.
There were close to 100,000 visits to the Macmillan website by the end of Sunday, which marks a 10% increase on the same period last year and the highest for a weekend period since at least March 2020.
This follows a similar spike last month following King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, when the same pages were visited almost 50,000 times in a single day.
A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024
Gemma Peters, chief executive of Macmillan, said: “We hear from people every day who are worried about how cancer will affect their loved ones, and how best to support each other through it.
“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.”
High-profile cases ‘act as a prompt’
CRUK said high-profile cases such as Kate Middleton’s can prompt people to find out more about the illness.
Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: “On Friday 22 March, the day of the Princess’s diagnosis, there were over 200,000 visits to our cancer information web pages.
“This was a 15.2% increase compared to the day before the announcement.
“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.”
Action for Children, of which Middleton is a patron, also published a statement.
Sarika Patel, the charity’s chair, said: “The Princess of Wales is an amazing patron for Action for Children, always engaging with the children, young people, and families she meets at our services.
“We want her to know we are thinking of her at this very challenging time and send her our love and support.
“Our staff join me in sending our very best wishes to her and her family and wish her a full recovery.”
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