Palace denies Duke's cancer scare
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Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Buckingham Palace has denied a report in the Evening Standard newspaper that the Duke of Edinburgh has had a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
The palace issued a statement strongly criticising the front-page report as "a serious breach" of privacy. It said that it would now be making a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission about the report.
The paper had reported that the prince, who is 87, was diagnosed while being treated for a chest infection in April.
The Buckingham Palace statement read: "Buckingham Palace has always maintained that members of the Royal Family have a right to privacy, particularly in relation to their personal health.
"For this reason, we have always refused to confirm or deny the persistent rumours that circulate about personnel health matters.
"But on this occasion, because the damaging story is now being reported widely, the Duke of Edinburgh has authorised us to confirm that the claim made in the Evening Standard that he has received a 'diagnosis of prostate cancer' is untrue."
The front-page story entitled "Prince Philip Defies Cancer Scare" appeared in the afternoon edition of the London's Evening Standard newspaper. The palace said the duke's itinerary, which includes events in Edinburgh next week, would go ahead as planned.
The Duke of Edinburgh spent three days in the King Edward VII's Hospital in west London in April.
Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK, accounting for almost a quarter of male cancers. Each year, nearly 32,000 men in the UK are diagnosed and more than 10,000 die from the disease.
There is a greater risk of getting prostate cancer with age - most men who are diagnosed are over 50.