On Monday Kate Middleton confirmed she was finally cancer-free three months after the shock news broke that she was receiving “preventative chemotherapy“ after doctors found cancer cells while she was having an abdominal surgery procedure.
Following the announcement in June, the Princess largely withdrew from public appearances to focus on her treatment.
Now she is cancer-free she will likely go through the recovery process which awaits many cancer patients after treatment, which can be a long road.
What does it mean to be cancer-free?
When you are in remission or cancer free it means there is no detectable sign of cancer in your body.
However, there is a chance cancer may sometimes come back after a drug treatment or chemotherapy.
There are three primary treatments for most cancers, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
Chemotherapy aims to kill cancer cells by attacking the cells that are in the process of doubling and dividing. Chemotherapy helps catch as many cells dividing as possible/ However, it is unlikely it will kill every single cancer cell possible, so if the remaining cells aren’t killed off by the immune system or die on their own they could grow back.
Similarly with radiotherapy, which makes small breaks in the DNA inside of cancer cells, if all cancer cells are not killed they can grow back.
Meanwhile, immunotherapy uses our immune system to fight cancer by ‘targeting’ the differences in cancer cells that help them to grow and survive. Some immunotherapies or targeted cancer drugs may get rid of a cancer completely. Others may shrink the cancer or control it for some months or years.
Although the cancer may seem to be gone after immunotherapy there may be a small group of cells that remain in the body which can start to grow again.
Now Kate has the ‘all clear’, what will her recovery look like?
Many chemotherapy symptoms are temporary, but it can take the body months, for some years, to recover from changes. Most people may need around six to 12 months to fully recover.
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