Patients with penile cancer receive a moving letter from King Charles praising him for coming forward

A man who bravely shared his penile cancer diagnosis publicly has received a moving letter from His Majesty the King.

Roger Cartwright, 76, was diagnosed with penile cancer in 2012 and underwent surgery to try to remove a tumor just days after his diagnosis.

The radio host courageously fought the disease and significantly slowed it down after several surgeries and participation in a vaccine trial

Due to the sensitive nature of his cancer, the retired academic has struggled to openly discuss his condition.

But hoping to break the stigma surrounding penile cancer, he shared his story publicly with a local newspaper – and King Charles III has written Roger a letter of support.

Roger Cartwright, 76, who bravely battled penile cancer, has received a moving letter from His Majesty praising the former lieutenant for going public

After King Charles III made his own diagnosis public in February, Mr Cartwright contacted the palace with a letter of support to His Majesty.

After King Charles revealed his own cancer diagnosis in February, Roger sent a letter of thanks and support to His Majesty – and was stunned by the moving and beautiful response he received.

Roger reflected on how ‘humiliating’ the response to his article about his diagnosis was, prompting him to thank the Royals when they were also made public

“When the news came out about King Charles and Princess Catherine, I thought it was fantastic of them,” he said.

‘I could do a little bit, but they can do a lot more by talking about it. Like many people, I wrote him a note wishing them well.

‘I mentioned my experience and said that I was extremely happy that the king had decided to do this, because what he said will resonate far more than anything I can ever do.

“I thanked him and didn’t think anything more about it.”

But on September 11, Roger and June, his beloved wife of 52 years, were greeted by a letter – addressed to Lt. Cdr. Roger Cartwright – on the doorstep.

Roger joked that he might have been ‘called upon to fight Putin’ – before opening the letter to reveal a moving note, wishing him well and thanking him for his work.

“I was touched to receive a more personal response from the Palace than I ever expected,” said Roger.

‘Normally there is a standard response to letters. If I expected an answer, I would have expected something like this.”

Shortly afterwards, he and his wife of 52 years, June, were greeted by a personal letter from the king full of support and encouragement

The King (pictured with Queen Camilla) told Roger in the letter that he was ‘touched’ to hear he had spread awareness about the disease

‘It came from Buckingham Palace – and it wasn’t addressed to Dr Cartwright, it was addressed to Lieutenant Commander.

“It wasn’t the standard answer,” he explained. ‘There was a particular paragraph where the King had heard that I was unwell and was encouraged by my positive outlook.

‘It said that he was particularly touched when he heard that I was becoming increasingly aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer.

‘I was touched that the king would share his problems with the world, because this would not have happened when I was young.

‘I think what the King has done will be incredibly helpful for many cancer patients – and the same goes for Princess Kate.

“If this can encourage someone to go to a doctor who is afraid to get checked because it’s personal and they don’t want anyone to know, then I’ve done my part.”

Roger, who also suffered two strokes in 2019, was not eager to make his diagnoses public, but his opinion was changed by a doctor who encouraged him to raise awareness.

“Penis cancer is quite rare, and it’s not something you discuss over dinner, although I do nowadays,” he said.

The former Royal Naval Reserve officer continued: “It’s one of those things you’re not so open about.

‘I had been suffering from it for a while and the complaints gradually got worse.

‘My consultant in Dundee said he wasn’t happy about it and sent me to a specialist – the only one who can treat this type of cancer in Scotland.’

Roger explained how he was going to work as a history cruiser sailing halfway around the world as a history speaker and told the doctor he could operate on the tumor when he returned.

When the news about King Charles (pictured) and Princess Catherine was revealed, Roger found their courage and honesty ‘fantastic’, as well as their work to raise cancer awareness

‘I said it would be fine. I’ll be back in three months and then we can operate. He said to me, ‘No, you’ll be back in three days’ – and that’s what happened.

‘That was the first of many operations to get rid of this cancer.

The doctor then suggested to Roger that he take part in a vaccine trial in an attempt to find another way to effectively combat the disease.

‘He wanted to try injecting me with a vaccine that they normally give to teenage girls because it could slow down the cancer.

‘They were talking about amputation at the time, which I wasn’t exactly happy about. As an academic, I thought that if it doesn’t work, we’ll learn as much by doing it as if it does work. I decided to continue.

“It has slowed things down significantly. It never goes away, but I have a very good advisor who keeps an eye on me.’