On the face of it Princess Kate and I are very different people living very different lives. When I travel home from a gruelling session of chemotherapy there’s always a risk I’ll get stabbed on the tram. If she’s on a tram, it would be for a royal engagement. My cheesy pasta is less about fresh ingredients and more about a jar of pesto and a bag of pre-grated cheese. I’m sure her version is much more wholesome. But her comments on Wednesday, July 2, made me realise that as two people affected by cancer, we are both very similar.
Everyone’s cancer journey is different, but by speaking out about the mental impact of treatment, and what happens afterwards, Princess Kate said what I try to say, but in a much better way. Speaking to patients at a cancer wellbeing centre at Colchester Hospital, she discussed the emotional impact of fighting the disease.
Describing it as a “rollercoaster”, Princess Kate said: “There is a whole phase when you finish your treatment, everybody expects you to be better – go! But that’s not the case at all.
“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.
“And actually 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.”
I doubt I will ever get to an “after treatment” phase but my experience last week of being told I don’t have spinal cancer feels pretty close.
First, there was the worry of thinking I could be dead by Christmas, and then, after scan results came back, the wondering what to do now.
How do I readjust my life to get back to fighting my incurable bowel cancer while recognising the spinal cancer scare?
It is the kind of question that thousands of cancer patients grapple with every day. Just what is the best way to tackle the emotional impact of cancer after being left to process good or bad news?
As Princess Kate says, there isn’t an easy answer. For me, the solution is why I’m leading the Daily Express’s Cancer Care campaign.
Cancer is the worst thing that most people will experience in their lifetime, and the emotional impact of it can tear people apart, even more than the physical side effects. This is why we are calling for all patients to have mental health support both during and after their treatment.
Princess Kate recognises just how important this is, and I hope the NHS and the Department of Health listen to her and us and make sure it’s available for all patients across the country.