Royalty thread #15: A New Era

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I had a strong reaction to PoW video (PTSD maybe?) so I'm giving the Waleses/KP/Palace all the benefit of the doubt.

In 2016, I too went into hospital for planned surgery, in my case to have a benign tumour removed. At my follow-up one month later was told they found cancerous cells and by the way treatment starts TOMORROW! You cannot underestimate the shock and disbelief. When you think everything is ok, being told you have cancer is like a punch in the face. I was in no state to make any decisions, but unlike the PoW, I didn't have young children/public status/etc. to think about or advisers hovering over me so I could do what I wanted.

Kate, you do whatever is best for you and your family and the h**l with everyone else. /rant over
 
I don't think Kate owes anyone an explanation but I think her announcement leaves as many questions as there were before. I think it did more harm than good & I feel that it wasn't Kate's or William's idea.

After any surgery, tissue that was removed goes to pathology so they had to know about Kate's cancer as soon as that was done. The time-line varies in naming the stage. When I had a lumpectomy to remove cancer they knew right away, no longer than within a week they didn't get it all. So the Firm has had months to handle the speculation/trolling & the best they could come up with is make that poor woman the scapegoat for the photo & force her (imo) to go on TV to discuss her medical situation.
 
taf2002 said:
After any surgery, tissue that was removed goes to pathology so they had to know about Kate's cancer as soon as that was done. The time-line varies in naming the stage. When I had a lumpectomy to remove cancer they knew right away, no longer than within a week they didn't get it all.
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None of us know 1. what sort of surgery Kate had 2. what was sent to pathology and how concerned they were about it at the time 3. what kinds of tests were done and the timeframe involved 4. when she was informed - it may well be that grading/staging took longer than what you experienced 5. how long it took to decide on the best treatment plan and 6. to figure out what she needs beyond the treatment itself, how to tell the kids, etc.

In short, it's very possible that very few people knew until recently, and that Kate herself decided what and how she wanted to share. She's an adult with agency, and not beholden to the KP press shop. Let's treat her as such.

So the Firm has had months to handle the speculation/trolling & the best they could come up with is make that poor woman the scapegoat for the photo & force her (imo) to go on TV to discuss her medical situation.
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Sometimes I think people get their ideas from watching The Crown.
 
I think they had to make some type of announcement considering they set everything up initially (when they didn’t know about the cancer) as Kate being back to duties “after Easter” and that clearly will not happen.

I do think the announcement will help and hope she was able to make the decision herself to speak.

I’m sad for her and the kids and her other family members that she has cancer.

I’m sad I was right that she was sicker than anticipated and this is why “the wheels started to fall off the bus.”

I hope she continues to recover well.
 
MsZem said:
None of us know 1. what sort of surgery Kate had 2. what was sent to pathology and how concerned they were about it at the time 3. what kinds of tests were done and the timeframe involved 4. when she was informed - it may well be that grading/staging took longer than what you experienced 5. how long it took to decide on the best treatment plan and 6. to figure out what she needs beyond the treatment itself, how to tell the kids, etc.

In short, it's very possible that very few people knew until recently, and that Kate herself decided what and how she wanted to share. She's an adult with agency, and not beholden to the KP press shop. Let's treat her as such.


Sometimes I think people get their ideas from watching The Crown.
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Thank you. I'll add (as a former corporate communications professional) that her hospital medical records were "accessed" which means the hospital, her healthcare team, and KP have lost control of keeping her private medical condition private. Reports of the "access" emerged on March 18/19. Her video release was 3 days later. IMO, her video was a proactive parry to get in front of the leak, should it occur. IMO, they didn't, a perhaps still don't, know what or how many of her records were accessed or duped. Releasing her diagnosis publicly in a video (vs a press release) that includes proof of life and (somewhat) well-being makes total sense to me.
 
I admire those who misread the situation, I'm talking about journalists, celebrities and public figures, and made critical remarks or jokes, who have now come forward and apologized. I thought Catherine speaking for herself, alone on a bench, looking beautiful but sad and vulnerable, and mentioning the many others who share a cancer diagnosis was very impactful. Of course, they are still being criticized and picked apart by some but to quote another "great" woman - "why you gotta be so mean?"
 
I am a late comer here because I rarely open this thread, but I have been following the situation. When I first read that she had surgery but they are being secretive,I was afraid that it may be very serious. It turned out to be just that.

Although some cancers are curable, the word itself is scary. I hope Kate's cancer is curable. The public does not need to know the details. She is getting the best medical support, I am sure. It is still very difficult for the family, especially those with young children. They all have my sympathy.
 
Kate looked the farthest thing from a scapegoat or pawn in her video - she seemed resolute and brave to me. Who do you think could or would force her to do it, and why would they?

After my surgery the doctors said relax, everything looked normal. It took a couple of weeks for one of the samples to come back as cancerous. Timelines vary.
 
Barbara Manatee said:
Kate looked the farthest thing from a scapegoat or pawn in her video - she seemed resolute and brave to me. Who do you think could or would force her to do it, and why would they?

After my surgery the doctors said relax, everything looked normal. It took a couple of weeks for one of the samples to come back as cancerous. Timelines vary.
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Yup. I had a skin biopsy sent off for pathology. The dermatopathologists thought it looked weird and sent the sample to another university's dermatopathology lab for a second opinion. It was close to 20 days before I heard back. (Thankfully, negative for melanoma.) That was for one small biopsy. Depending on the surgery, there could have been a lot more samples to test.
 
taf2002 said:
I don't think Kate owes anyone an explanation but I think her announcement leaves as many questions as there were before. I think it did more harm than good & I feel that it wasn't Kate's or William's idea.

After any surgery, tissue that was removed goes to pathology so they had to know about Kate's cancer as soon as that was done. The time-line varies in naming the stage. When I had a lumpectomy to remove cancer they knew right away, no longer than within a week they didn't get it all. So the Firm has had months to handle the speculation/trolling & the best they could come up with is make that poor woman the scapegoat for the photo & force her (imo) to go on TV to discuss her medical situation.
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My brother in law had surgery in early December. The specialized testing for the lung cancer didn't come back until early February. The oncologist was consulting with Mayo to determine specialized specific treatment

It is not always snap fingers
 
I've read that very often rich, famous people get worse medical care because doctors are afraid of offending the clients. It's not out of the realm of possibility that doctors would have been hesitant mentioning the Big C to Kate initially for fear of offending her.
 
There are 100s of different cancer types that infiltrate various areas of the body. I’ll add my latest example:

A good friend recently had to have a colon resection when they found an 8 inch growth during a colonoscopy checkup :eek: She had no symptoms. They took samples during the colonoscopy and they instantly came back benign but she needed surgery anyway which she had a week later. During the surgery they took out all the (“alien invader” as she calls it) plus lymph nodes, etc. It took almost 4 weeks for the results: all benign, thank the goddess. She’s now “enjoying” a 3-month convalescence.

I’m not proposing this is the POW’s condition. Just that when it comes to cancer, things are not that cut-and-dried (pun intended :slinkaway).
 
ignosk8er said:
There are 100s of different cancer types that infiltrate various areas of the body. I’ll add my latest example:

A good friend recently had to have a colon resection when they found an 8 inch growth during a colonoscopy checkup :eek: She had no symptoms. They took samples during the colonoscopy and they instantly came back benign but she needed surgery anyway which she had a week later. During the surgery they took out all the (“alien invader” as she calls it) plus lymph nodes, etc. It took almost 4 weeks for the results: all benign, thank the goddess. She’s now “enjoying” a 3-month convalescence.

I’m not proposing this is the POW’s condition. Just that when it comes to cancer, things are not that cut-and-dried (pun intended :slinkaway).
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Absolutely. My mom's doctor told her that she would no longer be able to carry a baby full-term after I was born. She had to have her tubes tied. My mom was 5'2" and I weighed 8 lbs. 7 ounces when I was born. It wasn't an easy delivery because of that.

Mom was 42 years old in 1977. She stopped having her menstrual cycle. Her first thought was that she might be pregnant, but she had her tubes tied and knew something was wrong. She told her doctor that if she was pregnant that he was going to foot the bill because he was the one that performed the surgery to begin with. My mom said that they were both laughing about it.

She had to have exploratory surgery. That's when it was discovered that there was a tumor the size of a grapefruit in one of her ovaries. The tumor was malignant, and she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer.

With Kate, all we know is that she had the abdominal surgery and that's when it was discovered that she had Stage 1 cancer. That is a blessing because there's almost nothing that can be done when it's Stage 4. Hopefully remission like what happened with my mom. So Kate is getting the right treatment from her doctor and has a good chance of beating the cancer. She has my continued prayers.
 
Simone411 said:
With Kate, all we know is that she had the abdominal surgery and that's when it was discovered that she had Stage 1 cancer. That is a blessing because there's almost nothing that can be done when it's Stage 4. Hopefully remission like what happened with my mom. So Kate is getting the right treatment from her doctor and has a good chance of beating the cancer. She has my continued prayers.
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Did she or anyone speaking on her behalf say that it was stage 1? For some types of cancer, they do not do adjuvant chemo unless it's more advanced. Hopefully it was early and she's responding well to treatment ?

I'm so sorry your mom had to go through what she did. Even years later, I'm sure it's still painful.
 
MsZem said:
Did she or anyone speaking on her behalf say that it was stage 1? For some types of cancer, they do not do adjuvant chemo unless it's more advanced. Hopefully it was early and she's responding well to treatment ?

I'm so sorry your mom had to go through what she did. Even years later, I'm sure it's still painful.
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Thank you. I don't remember which article I read, but it mentioned that it was Stage 1 cancer. Maybe someone here can help us out with this.
 
This clip is a cancer physican, who does not appear to be her physician. He even indicated it's to early to speculate but defined what staging is. Not her type of cancer or stage.

If he had known intimate details of the diagnosis or is involved with her care, he is another breech in her Healthcare.

Anything anyone says anything other than Catherine is speculating.
 
once_upon said:
This clip is a cancer physican, who does not appear to be her physician. He even indicated it's to early to speculate but defined what staging is. Not her type of cancer or stage.

If he had known intimate details of the diagnosis or is involved with her care, he is another breech in her Healthcare.

Anything anyone says anything other than Catherine is speculating.
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Here's an article from CBS News. You're right that it's speculation. This article is about the cancer being in its early stages.

www.cbsnews.com

What do we know about Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis so far? Doctors share insights

Kate, the Princess of Wales, said in a video statement that she's undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer was diagnosed following abdominal surgery. Here's what we know.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook said it sounded like her cancer was found early.

"You always want to find cancer in the earliest stages," LaPook said. "They went in there to do whatever procedure they were going to do, and they knew it was going to be some prolonged recovery, and in there, presumably when they were able to take a good look, they didn't see any evidence of cancer. And it was only afterwards, when I guess there maybe was an examination of a specimen, a surgical specimen, that they said, 'Oh, there's some cancer here.'"

He added, "Since you always want to find cancer in the earliest stages, whatever kind of cancer it is, to me that was a relatively good piece of news."
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What I have to say is both factual & kind of speculation. They are calling her chemo a preventative treatment. This is like my own 1st cancer. After the lump was removed they found cancer cells all the way to the outer edges of the lump. The 2nd removal showed no cancer cells at the edges. Therefore I had rounds of radiation as a preventative. By the way, the type of cancer calls for chemo, radiation, or both. My type wouldn't have responded to chemo.

The fact that they are calling her chemo as preventative tells me that they think they got all the cancer in the 1st surgery. Like if she had a normal hysterectomy or oophorectomy for example the removed tissue showed no cancer cells at the edges of the cut. So it's very good news that they used the term preventative if that in fact is true. (With the RF you never know.)
 
I think speculation is what caused Catherine to speak, maybe much earlier than she want to. Speculation led to all sorts of rumors.

Experts can have knowledge about cancers and even treatments. They can make semi educated guesses on what type of cancer found in abdomen. Maybe it's of reproductive organs, maybe it's of bladder, maybe it's of colon, maybe it's of the liver, or any organ. We do not know, most likely neither do they.

Preventative chemotherapy doesn't always mean they think surgically they got everything. Every surgical removal has the risk of cancer cells escaping when a knife or laser cuts tissues.

Speculation leads to someone taking it as factual.

We do not know anything but what Catherine has told us.
 
taf2002 said:
What I have to say is both factual & kind of speculation. They are calling her chemo a preventative treatment. This is like my own 1st cancer. After the lump was removed they found cancer cells all the way to the outer edges of the lump. The 2nd removal showed no cancer cells at the edges. Therefore I had rounds of radiation as a preventative. By the way, the type of cancer calls for chemo, radiation, or both. My type wouldn't have responded to chemo.

The fact that they are calling her chemo as preventative tells me that they think they got all the cancer in the 1st surgery. Like if she had a normal hysterectomy or oophorectomy for example the removed tissue showed no cancer cells at the edges of the cut. So it's very good news that they used the term preventative if that in fact is true. (With the RF you never know.)
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I remember when my mom's cancer came back, it was diagnosed as ovarian carcinoma. It was 8 years later after she went into remission. She had a total hysterectomy in 1977, but her doctors told her if the cancer ever came back that it would be in the same area in her glands.

Doctors came down from MD Anderson to discuss what treatments were available. There was an experimental chemo that contained platinum. She volunteered to take it because the choices were limited regarding recurring ovarian carcinoma. It did prolong her life for 2 years. However, she had to stop taking the chemo because it was destroying her kidneys.

She also volunteered for another experimental procedure. A doctor from MD Anderson implanted a chemo port in her chest. Several doctors from around the U.S. came to watch the procedure. I was amazed at how many doctors came to watch. The chemo port was successful. My mom made history because of it being a success, and that was in 1985. My mom's doctor told me that people with various types of cancer such as Uterine, Cervical, Ovarian and Colon would be able to use the port when chemo was administered. Of course, she lost her hair about a month later because of the chemo.
 
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@Simone411, chemo ports are more ordinary now. I've known 2 friends who had them. Your mother's willingness to try it may have prolonged many lives since then. It's a nice legacy.

@once_upon, in my experience a lot of people educate themselves when they get a serious disease so they can be a knowledgeable advocate for themselves. You seem to be assuming that someone is totally clueless about their disease if they aren't a doctor. You even challenged a generalism.
 
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Most people who educate themselves to be advocates for themselves have their diagnosis at hand, and, if cancer, the type(s) and stage. None of the people speculating, doctors or not, know what kind of cancer the Princess of Wales has/had.
 
taf2002 said:
@Simone411, chemo ports are more ordinary now. I've known 2 friends who had them. Your mother's willingness to try it may have prolonged many lives since then. It's a nice legacy.

@once_upon, in my experience a lot of people educate themselves when they get a serious disease so they can be a knowledgeable advocate for themselves. You seem to be assuming that someone is totally clueless about their disease if they aren't a doctor.
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No I am not. I'm saying in Catherine's case we do not know anything. It is harmful to make assumptions on our personal experiences.

I know aggressive cancers in children, young adults, older adults. I know slow growing cancers in all age groups.

There have been made allegations that medical chemotherapy is more invasive that radiation. Which is not true.

Speculation and assumptions on treatments is not useful or accurate.
 
Alixana said:
I had a strong reaction to PoW video (PTSD maybe?) so I'm giving the Waleses/KP/Palace all the benefit of the doubt.

In 2016, I too went into hospital for planned surgery, in my case to have a benign tumour removed. At my follow-up one month later was told they found cancerous cells and by the way treatment starts TOMORROW! You cannot underestimate the shock and disbelief. When you think everything is ok, being told you have cancer is like a punch in the face. I was in no state to make any decisions, but unlike the PoW, I didn't have young children/public status/etc. to think about or advisers hovering over me so I could do what I wanted.

Kate, you do whatever is best for you and your family and the h**l with everyone else. /rant over
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I'm really surprised that the lab takes that long to find malignancies.

Very sorry you had to go through that.

Since 11/1/23, I've had 2 employees diagnosed with cancer and 3rd who is in remission get some really odd blood counts (iron is off the charts low).

The healthy looking employee passed away within 5 weeks. We are all still in shock. He had no symptoms until he woke up the Thursday after Christmas feeling as though he swallowed poison. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer :(

The not healthy looking but much younger employee is doing way better than expected but is on a brutal course of treatment. She had a tumor in the bottom inside quadrant of her breast and it doubled in size from initial discovery (11/1) to removal (12/5). She is a single mom and is on my mind 24-7.

Experiences with cancer vary tremendously. We all know this but it bears repeating.

Get your checkups!!!

I'm glad Kate's was found and I hope she responds well to treatment.

And I wonder if the main issue with the altered photo initially released was that it contained portions of a previously published photo that was not copyrighted by anyone associated to the BRF. More specifically, the Vogue cover.

But if I'd just learned I had cancer, and had ever been on the cover of Vogue, well I understand the impulse to use that image.
 
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