'Please do not lose faith or hope': Cancer patients praise Kate for her ... trends now
Cancer patients have praised the Princess of Wales for her inspiring message of hope after it was revealed she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer.
The princess's message in which said 'You are not alone', delivered at 6.00pm today, will have struck a chord with millions of others whose lives have been blighted by the disease.
Among them, Delblu76 wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'Princess Kate... Such a brave speech because your own diagnosis is always so hard to talk about - I know from my own experiences.
'Your words were wonderful. Hard as it is at times, keep fighting for all of us.'
Labour MP Chris Bryant said: ' I know from my experience of melanoma that cancer is a bugger but science and medicine have made such advances that it needn't inspire fear.'
Sitting on a bench at Windsor, surrounded by spring flowers, the Princess of Wales has taken the extraordinary step of revealing to the world that she has cancer
The princess's message in which said 'You are not alone', delivered at 6.00pm today, will have struck a chord with millions of others whose lives have been blighted by the disease
The princess's message struck a chord with many other people whose lives had also been affected by cancer
Priya Khanchandani tweeted: 'I hope Kate will now finally be left alone after all the fuss over the silly photoshopping. As a fellow abdominal cancer survivor, all the zero-evidence theories have been nauseating to read and in hindsight, cruel.'
Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell said: 'On behalf of everyone at Cancer Research UK, I wish Her Royal Highness a full, swift recovery and return to good health.
'During this difficult time, it's important that the Princess is given the time and space to focus on her treatment and that we respect the family's privacy.
'Nearly one in two of us will develop cancer during our lifetimes, but many more are affected when someone they love is diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to research there is hope - cancer survival has doubled in the last 50 years.
'High profile cancer cases often act as a prompt to encourage people to find out more or think about their own health. If people spot something that's not normal for them or isn't going away, they should check with their GP.
'It probably won't be cancer. But if it is, spotting it at an early stage means treatment is more likely to be successful.'
Princess Kate revealed the news in an emotional video message that was broadcast on Friday evening.
She said: 'I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
'It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I've had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
'In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous.
'The surgery was successful.
'However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.
'My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.
'This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.
'As you can imagine, this has taken time.
'It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment.
'But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.
At points the future queen was highly emotional as she spoke of her illness and her family and telling her children she will 'be ok'
Kate had a message for fellow cancer sufferers, telling them: 'You are not alone'
The video was filmed in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Wednesday
The Princess of Wales with her children in her Mother's Day portrait, which now has added significance given her diagnosis
Catherine's emotional and extraordinary words in her unprecedented video message
'As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.'
Touching, the princess offered words of hope to others whose lives have been touched by cancer, adding: 'At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer.
'For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope.
'You are not alone.'
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the Princess of Wales has 'the love and support of the whole country' as her cancer battle was revealed this evening and good wishes came in from around the globe, including from the White House where Joe Biden is 'incredibly sad to hear of the news'.
Her bravery at revealing her cancer to the world has also been praised.
At the time of her abdominal surgery in January, Kensington Palace said that it was non-cancerous. They have confirmed again tonight that is the case and that no tests had confirmed the presence of cancer. However post-operative tests subsequently found that cancer 'had been present'.
This evening's announcement will send shockwaves around the world and came after weeks of speculation - and wild conspiracy theories - about her health.
It also creates a fresh crisis for the British Royal Family at a time where King Charles is also battling cancer. In January Sarah, the Duchess of York, was diagnosed with skin cancer, just six months after being treated for breast cancer.
The princess is now on what has been described as a 'recovery pathway' having commenced a course of chemotherapy in late February.
It is for this reason that Prince William pulled out of a memorial service for his late godfather, King Constantine of Greece.
Kensington Palace has strongly asked people not to speculate on what cancer she has.
However they say that she is in 'good spirits and focused on her recovery'.
'She is hugely grateful to the medical team for the care they are providing to her,' a spokesman said. 'She now needs time, space and privacy to complete her treatment and make a full recovery.'
It is understood that the announcement was made tonight not because of unpleasant social media speculation about her health and whereabouts – although that has been upsetting - but because her children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, broke up from school today, which gave them the opportunity to take them away privately and protect them from the inevitable public shock.
In her video statement the Princess, dressed casually in a stripped Breton top and jeans, said: 'I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery. It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I've had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
'In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.
'This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.
'As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits. Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.
'We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.'
Even amidst her own personal anguish, there was a message for fellow cancer sufferers: 'At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.'
The Prince and Princess of Wales were seen together last week as William went to the The Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey
The Princess of Wales said her family (pictured together on December 25) 'need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment'
I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I've had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.
This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.
As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to
George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.
As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.
Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.
We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.
At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.
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A source said this has been a 'real shock' for the couple and they have needed to take time to process the news personally and bring their young children to a place that they could 'process this news about their mother'.
They have always wanted to shield them from the inevitable coverage her diagnosis will cause.
However she does have a very positive approach to her recovery and a positive mindset moving forwards.
A spokesman for the princess said: 'We will not be sharing any further private medical information. The Princess has a right to medical privacy, as we all do.'
However her spokesman confirmed: 'The Princess is now on a recovery pathway having commenced a course of preventative chemotherapy…in late February.'
The palace will not confirm how long her treatment is expected to last and has asked the media and public not to
