Princess Catherine and Survivorship

Catherine, Princess of Wales, spoke a few days ago about her post-cancer life. It happened as she was visiting patients at a hospital. It seems like it was prompted by her dropping out of an event (the Royal Ascot, a horse racing event) that the Royal Family traditionally attends each year.

In the interview, she talked about the struggles she has had since finishing her cancer treatment. It is remarkable in the way she covers most of the issues that are related to survivorship.

I won't go through everything she said, but it amounts to this:

After successful treatment, everyone, including yourself, can think that everything is OK.  During treatment, she said, "you put on a sort of brave face." But when treatment is over, it can be "really difficult."

Part of the difficulty is physical -- your body is still recovering from the side effects of treatment. As she said, "You're not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to."

And part of the change is psychological. After treatment is over, "then it's like 'I can crack on, get back to normal'." But "the phase afterwards is really difficult, you're not necessarily under the clinical team any longer."And without that team that you were working with, there's some element of fear that comes with it. All of this lines up pretty much exactly with the recent survey results that I wrote about a few weeks ago.

One of the patients she talked with agreed: "It can be very discombobulating, in that time when you've finished active treatment."

I think all of this is a great reminder that survivorship isn't easy. As she 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....You have to find your new normal and that takes time... and it's a rollercoaster it's not one smooth plane, which you expect it to be. But the reality is it's not, you go through hard times."

And in a weird way, that should be comforting. If you're post-treatment and struggling, whether it's physical or emotional or spiritual -- you're not alone. I'm sure Catherine is getting the best treatment and post-treatment care possible, and she's struggling anyway. Cancer doesn't much care whether or not you have a crown on your head.

The lesson, of course, is to seek help if you feel like you need it. See if your cancer center has a survivorship program. If not, ask your oncologist of there are services available -- physical therapy, or a social worker or other mental health counselor, or a nutritionist, or something else (the Princess apparently found acupuncture very helpful).   

I appreciate Princess Catherine being willing to speak out about this. I remember when her diagnosis was first announced, there was little detail given, and I defended her right to keep things private. We all need to deal with our diagnosis and treatment in whatever way makes most sense to us and helps us. I would love it if every famous person was completely open about everything. But that's not their responsibility. They owe no one anything, except themselves and their loved ones.

So Catherine speaking out about survivorship is a wonderful thing. I hope it brings some comfort to a lot of patients and survivors.