“What a relief to have finally finished my chemotherapy treatment.” The Princess of Wales’s words yesterday succinctly summed up the feeling that will be shared by so many who have undergone this life-saving, if gruelling, therapy.
The good news is that any nausea, loss of appetite and other side effects of chemotherapy she may have suffered will now be behind her and her strength will be returning. Catherine has undergone adjuvant chemotherapy, a treatment used to kill malignant cells that might have escaped surgery to remove a cancer. When a patient is given a powerful cancer-killing drug, doctors must weigh the benefits of this life-saving treatment against the possible long-term risks, but Catherine’s previous good health, diet and lifestyle as a young, slim and fit woman will provide a foundation on which her physical recovery can be built.
Kate with Prince William in the emotional video she posted about her recovery
However, the emotional impact of diagnosis and treatment can be long-lasting: many people struggle to cope with life after the illness, with low mood being one of the most common long-term effects. It takes time to process feelings, anxieties and priorities. As Catherine acknowledged yesterday, a cancer diagnosis “brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you never considered before, and with it a new perspective on everything.”
“Life, as we know, can change in an instant,” she said. A cancer diagnosis can throw a wrench into our plans and vision of the future.
And yes, there is a lot of hope and light after finishing the treatment, and although she looks beautiful and happy, I imagine that the Princess may be feeling exhausted and with limited energy reserves, which she will want to save for her children.
It will take time for her to regain her former dynamism and I can only hope that too many expectations are not placed on her, either at home or in the outside world. If I were the Princess’s doctor, I would want her to go through a long convalescent phase, perhaps even a year, away from the usual traumas of life, to give her time to concentrate on diet, sleep, meditation, regular exercise and some fun, some pleasures: an occasional massage, a bit of “pampering.” Perhaps even a regular session of psychotherapy with a well-chosen therapist.
As with any patient who has undergone arduous treatment for a serious illness, we should not expect her to be “raring to go” now.
As for what your family (indeed, the families of anyone who has survived cancer treatment) can do, the key is to be supportive, as yours clearly is. This means offering no-half-measures care, but also recognizing that they are no longer bulletproof. Anxiety that their disease might recur haunts many cancer patients, an anxiety that can be heightened when they undergo regular scans or blood tests for tumor markers to check for it. This creates horizons in their life that add to the burden of anxiety, an ever-present undercurrent of fear. It takes strength (and support) to keep that natural worry in check.
She has not made it through the woods, but the Princess of Wales has our hopes and our affection as she continues a journey shared by so many people around the world – we wish her all the best in this next phase of her recovery.