Princess Catherine has given a rare update about her ‘life-changing” experiences following cancer treatment.
The royal, who announced she was in remission in January, made the candid admission at the Colchester Hospital’s Cancer Wellbeing Centre.
Speaking with staff and patients about life post-chemotherapy, she admitted she’d “put on a brave face” and it had been “really difficult.”
The event, to celebrate the healing benefits of being in nature, marked her first public appearance after she missed the Royal Ascot last month.
“You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment, treatments done, then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal’ but actually the phase afterwards is really, is really difficult,” she said.
“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.”
“Life-changing”
“It’s life-changing for anyone,” the Princess of Wales continued, “through first diagnosis or post-treatment and things like that, it is 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 roller coaster, it’s not one smooth plain, which you expect it to be,” she said.
“But the reality is it’s not, you go through hard times.”
The Princess of Wales said it was important that people could access support when they needed it.
“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.
“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,” she said.
The princess was photographed planting a rose in the centre’s garden and posing for selfies.
She first revealed that she was in the early stages of cancer treatment in March 2024.
