Princess Kate says she's receiving 'preventative chemotherapy'—here's what that means

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After the princess shocked the world with her cancer diagnosis, experts explain what the rest of us can learn from her experience.

Though we often talk about chemotherapy as one treatment, there are more than 100 chemotherapy drugs that can be used to treat different cancers. Each cancer patient needs an individual drug preparation. Here a pharmacist injects doxorubicin into an intravenous drip bag in the hospital cancer ward. He is working in a glove box and is wearing protective clothing because these drugs are toxic chemicals that destroy rapidly dividing cells, such as tumor cells.

Of course, desired outcomes and survival rates depend on a patient's willingness to follow the treatment recommendations of their doctors—a commitment Princess Kate seems to be exemplifying.Cancer is a disease in which a mutation in a cell’s DNA causes it to begin growing rapidly and uncontrollably, interrupting normal functions and putting various bodily systems and organs at risk.

After surgically removing or eradicating the presence of existing cancer cells, follow-up adjuvant treatment can be administered to prevent the cancer from returning, which is what Princess Kate was likely referring to when she said she was receiving “preventative chemotherapy.” Because of this, chemotherapy can harm various systems throughout the body resulting in hair loss, a compromised immune system, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, diminished cognitive function , loss of bladder control, loss of appetite, and a condition called neuropathy, in which one experiences numbness or tingling in the fingers and toes.Medical advances have made it easier to manage these side effects.

Though chemotherapy can be recommended for any type of cancer, the type of adjuvant "preventative" chemotherapy Princess Kate is receiving "is not used universally to treat all cancers," says Beth Karlan, a physician and gynecologic oncologist at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "However, it is commonly used for many early breast cancers, colon cancers, and ovarian cancers with curative intent.

 

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