The only similarity between King Charles and I during our cancer journeys used to be our wavy hair. But this week I've felt more like the monarch than ever before. There was the worrying news that he had to return to hospital after having treatment. And then I too was called in to my hospital to try and resolve an issue with my treatment.

For me the problem wasn't how my body was coping with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which I get given every fortnight to battle my incurable bowel cancer. It was simply that the little plastic tube they put in one of my deep veins to get the powerful drugs into my body wasn't working properly (in medical terms it is called a PICC line). The only way to get it to work was for a nurse to press down on one of the plastic parts outside my arm and pull it a bit. It felt like when you would hit a TV in the olden days to get a better picture - it made it work but it definitely wasn't an ideal situation.

An x-ray revealed the plastic tube inside my vein had coiled itself into an s-shape so, supposedly, the only solution would be for someone in the vascular access team to pull it out a bit so the s in my vein was a lot less like the S on Superman's chest.

For this to happen I was advised I would need to go to my hospital three hours before my chemotherapy was set to start so the vascular access team could fit me in between booked in patients.

As a regular in the world of NHS hospitals I've become an expert at waiting so had no problem with sitting for three hours until I would be seen.

This was until I received the equivalent of the royal treatment by one of the vascular team and my issue was resolved within ten minutes of me arriving at hospital.

As a cancer-lifer I'm used to issues with my PICC line, to the extent that the vascular access surgeon calls me "Trouble" and says I could probably put the plastic tube into my vein myself.

But it was still worrying to be called into hospital for an unscheduled visit. I was wondering what would happen if the simple procedure wasn't a success. Would I have had to delay my chemotherapy if my line had to be taken out and a new one put in?

No matter whether a cancer patient is the king or just a lowly Daily Express reporter (also known as me) everyone fighting this awful disease faces mental struggles during treatment as well as physical ones.

This is why the Daily Express is running the Cancer Care campaign. We want all cancer patients to have access to mental health support both during and after their treatment.

This should include a patient having a holistic needs assessment after their diagnosis and before treatment begins. Doing this will ensure medical teams are aware of the main issues and concerns for their patients, whether that be losing their hair, not being around for their granddaughter's wedding, or simply not being able to eat spicy food anymore.

And asking a patient how they are feeling and how their mental health is should be a key part of each consultation before treatment. This will enable medical teams refer their patients to the most appropriate support.

For this to become a reality the NHS and the Department for Health need to instruct hospital teams to make it happen.

And you can help us put pressure on them by signing the campaign petition on the Parliament website.

I don't know how long I've got left in this life but if you help me make this mental health change a reality then I can die happy.