JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After Kate, Princess of Wales, announced her cancer diagnosis last week, many were curious about what type of cancer the former Kate Middleton has. However, Kensington Palace made it clear it would not share a specific diagnosis saying: “We will not be sharing any further private medical information. The Princess has a right to medical privacy, as we all do.”
What we do know is that after much speculation Her Royal Highness posted a video message after abdominal surgery and said that post-operation test results revealed cancer had been present. Kate also said that she was undergoing “preventative chemotherapy.”
But the term “preventative” is not really accurate when it comes to Kate’s chemo.
“In this specific case it’s actually ‘adjutant (chemo),’ which means after we found the tumor,” said Dr. Husain Abbas, a gastrointestinal and bariatric surgeon with HCA Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville. “Sometimes we get something called neo-adjutant which means it’s before a diagnosis is made. Then we give the chemotherapy upfront. Then we, for example, operate and remove the tumor. And then, afterwards, get adjutant, (offer chemo after the fact).”
We don’t know what stage Princess Kate’s cancer is, so Abbas says it’s difficult to determine what type of chemotherapy she might be receiving. But, he says, it can be administered in many different forms.
“It looks like the whole thing, the tumor, was removed,” Abbas said. “So, we have clear margins. And now she’s getting this treatment which can come in pill forms or it can come in infusion forms. Those are the two different types of chemotherapies that we have.
“Until we know what it is, (the type of cancer) we won’t know exactly what type of treatment she is having,” Abbas said.
Speculation is however Kate’s chemo is being administered, it’s happeing privately to respect her privacy.