A Crieff author, public speaker and radio DJ has told of his shock at receiving a thank-you letter from King Charles.
Dr Roger Cartwright was applauded by the monarch for bravely speaking about his experiences of battling penis cancer.
The 75-year-old told The Courier in October 2022 that he had undergone surgery 14 times in 10 years to prevent lesions and reduce bleeding associated with the rare condition.
Roger has also spoken about the condition on the airwaves as a DJ for Heartland FM.
And King Charles, whose own cancer diagnosis was revealed in February, has been impressed.
Roger Cartwright ‘touched’ to receive letter from King Charles
Roger, a former Royal Naval reserve officer, joked that he thought he was being called up for duty when he received an envelope with a Buckingham Palace stampmark.
“It was completely unexpected – I thought it was a call-up to fight Putin,” he said.
“It’s quite interesting because on the envelope they addressed me by rank but not on the letter itself.
“The letter was addressed to Lieutenant Commander. I worked with cadet forces and was at HMS Drake in Plymouth in public relations.
“It said: ‘The king has been encouraged by your positive outlook in spite of your challenges, and was especially touched by your work to raise awareness about cancer.’
“I thought that was really nice.
“I was rather touched to receive it.”
Penis cancer and stroke ‘not the end of the world’
The letter underlined the positive response Roger has received since going public on his 2012 diagnosis.
Roger has also fought back from suffering a stroke in November 2019 while above the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Heathrow to Miami.
He added: “When I am doing talks, which I do now locally, I always try to encourage people to get themselves checked out and also to say that if you have had cancer or a stroke it is not the end of the world.
“You do recover.
“After the article a lot of people got in touch thanking me for putting it out there.
“It may have been a bit embarrassing but they were grateful because it might be them one day.
“My surgeon said he wished more would do the same and let the word get out, so others would follow.”
All-clear for next six months heralds exciting future
Despite his penis cancer being incurable, Roger is feeling buoyant about his health.
He has decided against having further surgery but his condition remains stable.
A consultant recently gave Roger the all-clear for the next six months.
And he has also returned to public speaking on Saga cruise ships five years after the stroke left him unable to take on a job that began in 2002.
This is on top of his weekly classical music show on Heartland FM and weekend broadcasts into care homes on Dance Sing.
The only blot is that the stroke has left Roger unable to add to the 32 books he has written.
“When I did my first Saga talk in August the cruise director said it was brilliant, and that he couldn’t tell I had had a stroke,” Roger said.
“Sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back,
“But if it wasn’t for my wife June and, of course, the NHS I wouldn’t be here doing what I am doing.”
Conversation