King Charles' diagnosis throws UK's long cancer treatment waiting times into sharp relief

For Anna Gittins, three months would have spelled the difference between life and death.

The elementary school principal from Hereford in western England was shocked when she found out she had advanced colorectal cancer in 2022. But when she contacted her local hospital, she was told no one would be able to see her for three months “due to high demand and low capacity of senior doctors."

“I've just been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, metastasized to my liver. I don't have three months to wait,” she said, using another term for colorectal cancer. She was just 46.

Gittins had access to private health care and has