As of: March 26, 2024, 5:45 a.m
By: Maximilian Kettenbach
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After weeks of speculation, Princess Kate makes it public that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment.
But what is adjuvant chemo?
Frankfurt – The news touches the world.
Princess Kate made her cancer public in an emotional video message when she was just 42 years old.
After her abdominal surgery in mid-January, cancer was discovered – contrary to what was initially thought – she said.
And spoke of a “shock”.
Here you can read the complete statement.
The palace did not disclose the exact diagnosis.
“The Princess has a right to medical privacy, as do we all,” said a Kensington Palace spokesman.
Preventive chemotherapy like Princess Kate’s – what it means and why you do it
But in Kate's case we know about the abdominal surgery after which the cancer was discovered.
On the advice of her medical team, Princess Kate is now receiving chemotherapy as a precaution.
Chemotherapy is a drug therapy against cancer.
The medications that are usually administered as an infusion or tablet are called cytostatics.
They are intended to prevent cancer cells from dividing and thus stop them from multiplying unchecked.
A so-called preventive, i.e. adjuvant, chemotherapy usually follows after the removal of a tumor.
It is given to destroy cancer cells that may still be present in the body.
This is intended to reduce the risk of a possible relapse.
What gives hope: preventive chemo is a sign that the cancer is likely to be curable.
According to
Bild.de,
the following types of cancer are treated with preventative chemo:
Breast cancer
Colon cancer
Lung cancer
Ovarian cancer
Stomach cancer
Rectal cancer
Princess Kate now addressed the public with an emotional video message and revealed her cancer diagnosis.
© picture alliance/dpa/BBC Studios/AP/Uncredited
Princess Kate falls ill: Which cancer is most likely according to experts
So the question of the type of cancer Kate has remains open.
“The most likely option is an operation on the intestines or on the female genital organs,” says Prof. Dr.
med.
Stefan Kluge, clinical director of the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
“In both the UK and Germany, these procedures are the most common when it comes to abdominal surgery.”
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A large study using data from the American Cancer Institute shows an increase in younger cancer patients.
Between 2010 and 2019, more than half a million cancer cases in people under 50 were analyzed.
The result: Overall, cancer is affecting more and more younger adults - and younger women are particularly hard hit by the increase.
“Colectal cancer is also increasing rapidly in Germany, especially in patients between the ages of 30 and 50,” said Professor Franz G. Bader on Friday evening, shortly after the news from Kate, in an interview with the
Münchner Merkur/tz
media group from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
The colon cancer specialist and head of surgery at Munich's Isar Clinic is therefore in favor of consistently expanding preventive colonoscopies, including for younger patients.
(
mke with dpa
)