What Is Preventative Chemotherapy? An Explanation Of Princess Kate Cancer Treatment.
The Princess of Wales has announced in a statement that she has been diagnosed with cancer after an incidental finding following abdominal surgery. Kate Middleton also said she was undergoing âpreventativeâ chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is a term used to describe the treatment of someone diagnosed with cancer and is used to kill cancerous cells â although Kate specifically used the term preventative chemotherapy.
In a statement she said: âIn January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous.
âThe 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.â
A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024
What is preventative chemotherapy?
Preventative chemotherapy isnât an official NHS term for a type of treatment and no further information has been given on Kateâs cancer, or the type of treatment sheâs having.
There are current treatments that exist called âchemopreventionâ which lower the risk of getting cancer, or of it returning in healthy people.
For example, it is currently used for people who have not developed breast cancer but are at increased risk of getting it due to their family history.
In 2021-22 more than 320,000 people received treatment for cancer on the NHS including chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy medicines are used to kill cancer cells. The drugs disrupt the way cancer cells grow and divide and therefore stop the cancer cells from spreading in the body.
READ: King Charles Says Heâs âSo Proudâ Of Kate For Her Courage Amid Cancer Diagnosis
According to specialists at The Royal Marsden, a cancer hospital in London, a chemotherapy called âadjuvant therapyâ is sometimes used to help destroy cancer cells that may remain after surgery or radiotherapy.
Other types of chemotherapy include: neo-adjuvant therapy, which is given before surgery or radiotherapy to shrink the tumour; peri-operative therapy that is given both before and after surgery, and palliative, which is to help relieve symptoms if cancer has spread.
According to the World Health Organisation there is a public health approach called âpreventive chemotherapyâ, which is used on whole populations, where large-scale medicines are administered to prevent certain diseases. These include lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis.