{"id":506650,"date":"2025-10-17T11:19:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/506650\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T11:19:16","slug":"princess-of-wales-speaks-up-for-women-given-cancer-all-clear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/506650\/","title":{"rendered":"Princess of Wales speaks up for women given cancer all-clear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over tea and biscuits, seven women are discussing how it feels to be given a second chance at life after going through cancer treatment. Their voices veer between tears and laughter over two hours of unflinching conversation about learning to trust their bodies again.<\/p>\n

The group of cancer survivors meet once a week at the Maggie\u2019s centre at the Royal Marsden in London, as part of a \u201cWhere Now?\u201d course, run by the charity to fill a chasm in NHS support. <\/p>\n

At present, patients are dropped \u201coff a cliff\u201d when they are discharged from specialist NHS care after chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Friends and family expect them to celebrate, but many are \u201cbroken\u201d by fatigue or anxiety, and written off by employers.<\/p>\n

The difficulties of adjusting to life after cancer have been highlighted by the Princess of Wales<\/a>, who has spoken of the \u201crollercoaster\u201d of trying to find her \u201cnew normal\u201d<\/a> since announcing in January she was in remission for cancer. \u201cYou put on a brave face, stoicism through treatment,\u201d she said. \u201cTreatment\u2019s done, and it\u2019s like, \u2018I can crack on, get back to normal again,\u2019 but actually that phase afterwards is a really difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maggie\u2019s is calling for post-treatment support to be embedded in the NHS cancer pathway as part of the government\u2019s forthcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan, due to be published in the coming weeks. Dame Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie\u2019s, said: \u201cThe Princess of Wales has talked honestly about how recovering from cancer is a rollercoaster, and that challenges continue even once you have finished treatment. So why have we forgotten about that in cancer care? We know it\u2019s not over when treatment ends, there is a recovery path and that path is incredibly difficult for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dame<\/p>\n

Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie\u2019s<\/p>\n

JACK TAYLOR FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

\u2018Abandoned when treatment finishes\u2019<\/p>\n

An NHS<\/a> survey of 9,000 cancer patients last year revealed that two thirds were unable to access emotional support after finishing cancer treatment, leaving them bouncing between GP appointments and mental health waiting lists.<\/p>\n

Many go into \u201csurvival mode\u201d during months of gruelling hospital treatment, explained Lee, a cancer nurse who has been chief executive of Maggie\u2019s since 1998. Then, after being given the all-clear, \u201cyou ring a bell in many hospitals, and off you go. It\u2019s like a celebration. But the devastation comes when people realise it\u2019s not over. They\u2019ve got this whole other journey to go through.\u201d<\/p>\n

It typically takes six months to a year to recover from the physical effects of cancer treatment, and patients must get to grips with life-changing consequences. \u201cWhy should you feel normal when you\u2019ve lost your breasts, or you\u2019ve had medical treatment that means that you\u2019re no longer going to be able to have a family,\u201d said Lee.<\/p>\n

The NHS treats 320,000 people for cancer each year, but the only built-in aftercare is an obligation for GPs to give them a single phone call. \u201cWe are keeping people alive for longer because of the shift in cancer treatment, which is a brilliant thing,\u201d said Lee. \u201cBut that means this cohort of people living with the psychological and physical impact of their treatments is growing. If we don\u2019t get the rehabilitation process right, we won\u2019t be helping people with cancer recover fully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written off by employers<\/p>\n

Ongoing symptoms often make it impossible for cancer survivors to jump straight back into full-time work. To ensure they are not \u201cwritten off\u201d and stuck on benefits, Maggie\u2019s provides free expert support to devise a phased return-to-work plan with employers. \u201cPeople want to be back at work, want to be financially independent from their family and the government. But if we don\u2019t support people, they get stuck,\u201d said Lee. <\/p>\n

Last year a study by a team at York University found the Where Now? programme \u2014 provided at 24 centres across the UK \u2014 could save the economy \u00a397,500 a year on sickness benefits, and deliver an extra \u00a31.1 million through increased spending and taxation. <\/p>\n

\u2022 One person to be diagnosed with cancer every two minutes by 2040<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Readjusting to life after cancer is particularly challenging for young adults, who are dealt the hammer blow of a diagnosis while \u201cin the prime of their productive life\u201d. <\/p>\n

The Times spoke to young women at the Maggie\u2019s centre at Charing Cross hospital in London. Lucy, 37, who was treated for stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma, described how the support group was \u201cthe first time I\u2019d spoken to people my age. Every time I went in for chemo I was the youngest person in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friends and family \u201cdon\u2019t have any understanding of what it\u2019s like to come out of the other side, and for the entire landscape of your life to be changed\u201d, Lucy added. \u201cEveryone assumes you must feel amazing, so relieved, so happy. Actually your anxiety just changes gear, and you become very scared about recurrence. Your body isn\u2019t the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liz, 37, who has finished treatment for Ewing sarcoma, added: \u201cI\u2019m in my thirties so other people are getting on with their lives \u2014 a new job, new partner, having children. But I had to have a year out of my life. My life hasn\u2019t moved on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Cara Gibson, a counselling psychologist who runs the young women\u2019s support group, said people \u201cfeel like they\u2019re abandoned when treatment finishes\u201d. Support is essential to return to work, and coming to terms with the fact their life plan has been \u201cturned on its head\u201d. Fertility is often a big theme of sessions, Gibson said, and \u201cyoung women will nearly all be offered egg retrieval and freezing before treatment\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Dr Cara Gibson<\/p>\n

JACK TAYLOR FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

\u2018You do not trust your body any more\u2019<\/p>\n

Maggie\u2019s offers free ongoing support to anyone affected by cancer, whether they want a cup of tea or specialist counselling. It also runs exercise classes, including Nordic walking groups and yoga to help people build up strength. The Times sat in on one session of the seven-week Where Now? course where they were discussing exercise. <\/p>\n

Rachel Day, the group leader, explained that \u201csomething is better than nothing\u201d when it comes to physical activity. Exercise has been proven to reduce the risk of cancer returning, cutting the risk of dying from bowel cancer by one third. However, it is a tricky balancing act when the fatigue associated with cancer treatment can last for years. <\/p>\n

Fiona* was previously a super-fit club runner, but since being treated for pancreatic cancer she can be, literally, floored by exhaustion. She recently went to the bank, a five-minute walk away. \u201cI collapsed and couldn\u2019t move on the floor for 40 minutes. I had to be carried back. I always have a fear that if I go out on a walk, I won\u2019t be able to get back.\u201d <\/p>\n

The women\u2019s relationships with their bodies have been permanently altered. \u201cYou do not trust your body anymore, it has let you down,\u201d said Jess*.<\/p>\n

One key theme is guilt \u2014 guilt over not bouncing back straight away, and not having the energy to celebrate with their children, friends and partners. The women bring up how much comfort they found in the Princess of Wales\u2019s honesty about the struggle of returning to normal life. For many, it was the first time they had heard someone say publicly that the post-treatment phase is not easy. \u201cI am very grateful to Kate. It is really important for us. If people around us are more aware, it will be less tricky for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Some names have been changed to protect anonymity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over tea and biscuits, seven women are discussing how it feels to be given a second chance at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,7714,7713,533,2832,532,2831,7710,519,7711,7712],"class_list":{"0":"post-506650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-catherine","10":"tag-catherine-middleton","11":"tag-kate-middleton","12":"tag-prince-of-wales","13":"tag-prince-william","14":"tag-princess-of-wales","15":"tag-royal-families","16":"tag-royal-family","17":"tag-uk-royal-family","18":"tag-william"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115389239852345146","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}