The Princess of Wales has spoken of the pressure to put on a “brave face” after being diagnosed with cancer and the intense expectations to “crack on, get back to normal” once treatment is finished.
What felt like her most personal and extensive public reflections on her recovery journey to date came as she met fellow patients at a cancer wellbeing centre at Colchester Hospital, helping to plant roses in a garden designed to help visitors find peace.
It follows recent media coverage about her decision not to attend Royal Ascot two weeks ago.
The Princess is in remission from cancer and the palace has consistently insisted there would be flexibility around her public engagements as she continues her recovery.
Appearing to address the issue herself, Kate said: “There is a whole phase when you finish your treatment. Everybody expects you to be better – go. You’re done, you should be back. But it’s not the case at all.”
Speaking to other cancer patients and volunteers, she added: “You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment, treatment’s done, then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal’, but actually the phase afterwards is really difficult. You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.”
Describing a first diagnosis as “a very scary journey”, she explained how in recovery it feels like “you have to find your new normal and that takes time”.
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Speaking to a volunteer who had also been through her own cancer diagnosis, Kate said: “It’s life-changing for anyone, through first diagnosis or post-treatment and things like that, it is a life-changing experience both for the patient but also for the families as well.
“And actually, it sometimes goes unrecognised, you don’t necessarily, particularly when it’s the first time, appreciate how much impact it is going to have. You have to find your new normal and that takes time… and it’s a rollercoaster, it’s not one smooth plain, which you expect it to be. But the reality is it’s not, you go through hard times.”
The wellbeing centre was built outside of the main hospital building, but close enough that patients can easily find it.
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Many newly diagnosed patients at Colchester Hospital now visit the centre immediately for counselling and advice. They also provide holistic treatments, including reflexology.
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The princess, speaking to therapist Amanda Green during a walkabout in heavy rain afterwards, said she had not yet tried reflexology but had had acupuncture as part of her own health journey.
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Repeatedly praising the focus on “mind, body and spirit” that the centre provides, Kate said “someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment, I think is really valuable.”
Talking about how difficult it can be for patients to know where to find support she said: “To have a place like this, to have the support network, through creativity and singing or gardening, whatever it might be, is so valuable and it’s great this community has it, it would be great if lots of communities had this kind of support.”
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The visit came with a donation of 50 ‘Catherine’s Rose’ plants, which she helped to plant in the garden surrounding the wellbeing centre. Named for the princess by the Royal Horticultural Society, the funds from sales of the plants go to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
