'I talked to Kate about my cancer - she cares'

Paul Philip Roberts met the Princess of Wales in Blackpool in 2019, shortly after he underwent surgery for lung cancer

A man who spoke to Catherine, Princess of Wales after he was diagnosed with cancer said that his "heart goes out to her" following the announcement she is undergoing chemotherapy.

Paul Philip Roberts met Catherine in Blackpool in 2019, shortly after he underwent surgery for lung cancer.

The 53-year-old said the princess showed him "she cares".

The Prince of Wales and Catherine, then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, spent the day in the seaside town touring a series of projects focused on regeneration and visited Blackpool Tower, where the princess met Mr Roberts.

Mr Roberts said Catherine showed "she cares" when she spoke to him about his cancer treatment in Blackpool in 2019

Mr Roberts said: "She did a walkabout, William went on one side and she came the other side, she came to my side, and we were chatting for a good five minutes.

"I was saying, 'my life has changed', it was so difficult, you've got to go through every emotion.

"She basically said, 'what cancer is it?' and I said it was stage three and that I had my lung out, and she said 'oh my God, that's awful' and she said 'just keep going' and she gave us a hug.

"She wished me all the luck in the world and she listened.

"She cared, and that's one thing that struck me - she cares."

He said that it is "such a shame" that the Princess of Wales has been diagnosed with cancer.

"I can feel for her and I have a lot of empathy for her because she's such a nice lady," he said.

Mr Roberts believes that the Princess of Wales announcing that she has cancer could encourage others to get checked for the illness.

'All hell broke loose'

"It's beneficial to the community and to the world, when you think about how many people she might have saved," he said.

Mr Roberts met Catherine shortly after receiving his cancer diagnosis, which left him "devastated" but said she, like him, would need lots of support.

"I got issued some antibiotics for a chest infection from a doctor, then I used all the antibiotics and then I had another chest infection so they sent me for an X-ray.

"It was from the X-ray that they found a shadow in my lung. All hell broke loose.

"Everything was a rush then really. I had more scans and then I had the operation about six weeks later and they took out my right lung."

He underwent only one round of chemotherapy because it made him feel "really ill" and "so disoriented" so instead he opted for 15 sessions of radiotherapy.

He said cancer is "a long road, so you need all the support".