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Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, who had not made any public appearance for several months, said in a video released by Kensington Palace on March 22 that she had been recovering from surgery. In January, she underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at that time, her condition was thought to be non-cancerous. While the surgery was successful, tests conducted after the operation revealed that cancer had been present. Therefore, her medical team advised her to undergo a course of preventive chemotherapy, the princess said.
She is now in the early stages of preventive chemotherapy.
A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024
What is preventive chemotherapy?
Preventive chemotherapy is a form of treatment administered after a primary treatment, say surgery, to reduce the chances of one’s cancer coming back. Even if one’s surgery was successful at removing all cancerous cells, microscopic bits of tumours may remain.
Therefore, as part of preventive chemotherapy, drugs are administered to kill all remaining cancerous cells, if any, in the body.
In medical terms, preventive therapy is called adjuvant therapy.
In some cases, adjuvant therapy is given before the main treatment, say surgery or radiation therapy, to increase the chances of success of the operation or effectiveness of radiation. This is known as neoadjuvant therapy.
The treatment Kate is undergoing is not neoadjuvant therapy, because she is receiving it post surgery.
Also known as chemoprevention, preventive chemotherapy may involve the use of drugs such as tamoxifen and raloxifene to prevent certain types of breast cancer in women who are at high risk of developing the disease, or to reduce the chances of the cancer coming back, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The effectiveness of preventive chemotherapy depends on factors such as the type of cancer, stage of cancer, number of lymph nodes involved, and other cancer-specific genes.
For instance, preventive chemotherapy can be very effective for breast and colon cancer, according to Mayo Clinic.
When cancer is detected at an early stage, the chances of cancer recurring post surgery are small, because of which preventive chemotherapy is likely to offer little benefit. However, if cancer is detected at a later stage, or has spread to the lymph nodes, preventive chemotherapy will be more beneficial.
The chances of cancer cells being left behind after surgery are high when a large number of lymph nodes are involved. In such a case, preventive chemotherapy can be considered.
Certain cancers may induce changes within cells, increasing the likelihood of the cancer returning. Preventive therapy can be beneficial in such cases.
This treatment technique is likely to offer little benefit when tests show that cancer is unlikely to recur.
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