Kate Middleton describes cancer journey as a 'roller coaster'
Princess Kate is sharing new details about her recovery from cancer, describing the experience as a "roller coaster."
"You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism, through treatment. Treatment's done, and it's like, 'I can crack on, get back to normal again,' but actually that phase afterwards is a really difficult time," Kate said Wednesday during a visit to Colchester Hospital in Colchester, England, according to the Press Association.
"You're not able to function normally at home as you were perhaps once used to," added Kate, who shares three young children with her husband Prince William.
Kate, 43, announced in January that she is in remission from cancer.
She first announced her cancer diagnosis publicly in March 2024. Kate has not shared the type of cancer with which she was diagnosed or any details of her treatment beyond sharing that she underwent chemotherapy.
Kate's visit to the hospital Wednesday is part of her gradual return to work that began late last year.
In speaking with cancer patients, Kate reflected on the recovery process, saying it's not as straightforward as people expect.
"It's a roller coaster. It's not one smooth plain, which you expect it to be, but the reality is it's not. You go through hard times, and to have a place like this, to have the support network, whether its through creativity and singing or gardening, whatever it might be, is so valuable, and it's great that this community has it," she said. "It would be great if lots of communities had this kind of support."
While at the hospital, Kate visited the RHS Wellbeing Garden, where she took time to plant some roses.
In addition to meeting with cancer patients at the hospital, Kate also met with staff and volunteers, to whom she spoke more about the "life-changing" experience of a cancer diagnosis.
"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 individual patient but also for the families as well," she said. "And actually, it sometimes goes unrecognized, you don't necessarily, particularly when it's the first time, you don't appreciate how much impact it is going to have. You have to find your new normal, and that takes time."
