While Catherine, Princess of Wales, better known as Kate Middleton, did make her first official appearance this past month for the 2024 Trooping the Colour, she has mostly remained out of the public eye to undergo preventative chemotherapy. Ever since her diagnosis came to light, many have wondered when and if she’ll ever return fully to the public eye like before. Some insiders claim she’ll return a bit this summer, while others say it’ll never be like it was before.
However, cancer specialist Karol Sikora recently spoke to the Royal Record podcast, and shone a light on how long Kate’s treatment may take.
“It’s a time of uncertainty. She’s obviously had an operation for cancer, we were asked not to speculate what it was but it was somewhere in the abdomen. It was an abdominal operation. She’s having preventative chemotherapy, which is usually given for six months,” Sikora said. “The actual day of the treatments are usually not too bad. The day after you feel very tired and then it’s very unpredictable.”
Sikora also added why people call it “preventative” chemotherapy, saying, “The reason preventive, we call it adjuvant chemotherapy, is given is to reduce the risk of the disease returning. So any cells that may have spread there’s nothing to see on the scans. But if we think there’s a risk of the disease returning, we give adjuvant chemotherapy.”
In case you need a recap, @theprinceandprincessofwales’ Instagram account uploaded a video of Kate discussing her diagnosis. They shared it with the caption reading, “A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales.”
“It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful,” Middleton said in her video statement. “In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous.”
She added, “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”
She then lovingly talked about her family of five, adding, “As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.”
Not much else is known about her treatment, besides speculation and rumors of her going to the US for treatment.
