Princess Catherine and the power of a cancer diagnosis

While these advances don’t apply to all cancers, they apply to enough cancer patients to shift popular perception and improve public discourse on the disease. But its unpredictability and the personal and social implications of succumbing, mean that fear remains.

“Cancer is still scary because it’s the leading cause of premature death in Australia, by an increasing margin,” says Paul Grogan an adviser on policy and communications to the Cancer Council for 20 years, now at the research-based Daffodil Centre.

“People are seeing more cancers because they are seeing less of just about everything else. Cancer numbers are increasing because there are more people, more people are living longer, and more cancers are occurring in younger people.”

Researchers estimate every Australian has about a 45 per cent chance of a cancer diagnosis by the age of 85, and the challenge is to normalise this disease as we wait for medical advances.

The way to do that is to reduce the stigma and take care of the fear, says Grogan.

“Stigma arises from an unfair belief and blaming the victim. Lung cancer is stigmatised because most people diagnosed with it today took up smoking when tobacco companies had open slather for marketing their products as glamorous. These smokers were caught up in that social movement and deceived by the tobacco industry.

“We can take away some fear by doing more to support people, look after their emotional and social wellbeing, and help them through.”

More can also be done to give a voice to those with low survival cancers.

“Look at liver cancer. We’ve seen a six-fold increase in these deaths over the past 50 years, yet nobody, apart from us in the sector, seems to have noticed,” says Grogan.

“It’s stigmatised. Almost certainly, this is because most of those affected have hepatitis B or C infections, high body mass, or a history of smoking and heavy drinking.”

Low survival rates mean there is no time or capacity for survivors to build a strong advocacy voice and maintain public conversation. The same happens with pancreatic cancer.

“On current trends, gaps in mortality rates will continue to widen between high- and low-survival cancers,” Grogan adds.

With more than 4.5 million new cancer cases and almost 1.5 million cancer deaths predicted in Australia over the next 25 years, he says there is much to be done.

Professor Dorothy Keefe, CEO of Cancer Australia, says as medical science has been demystified and old, paternalistic models of practice have faded, Australia has become better at talking about all illnesses, including cancer.

In the past 30 years, many advocacy groups have been formed and there are now working partnerships with patients, carers, families, researchers, clinicians and health services.

Keefe says talking about cancer and its treatment with patients, families, and communities reduces fear, leads to better care, and to improved survival.

“What patients want is their cancers found early, the best treatment, and to be cared for as partners along the way.”

And this is what the royal family is exemplifying.

The royal family and cancer

So far this year, three members of the royal family have been diagnosed with cancer. Here’s how the last few months have unfolded:

January 16: Princess Catherine, 42, was admitted for surgery at The London Clinic, a private hospital. The public was not informed.

January 17: Kensington Palace announced she was recovering from successful abdominal surgery that was not cancer related. No medical details were provided, except that she was expected to remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days and would not resume public duties until Easter.

The statement asked for privacy. The length of both her hospital stay and home recovery suggested this was a serious operation.

Ninety minutes after the Kensington Palace announcement, Buckingham Palace makes one about King Charles, 75. It is much more specific and says he will be having treatment for a benign enlarged prostate. The operation would be a “corrective procedure” and not cancer related. His public engagements “will be postponed for a short period of recuperation”.

January 21: It was announced that Sarah Ferguson, 64, Duchess of York and Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, had a malignant melanoma. This skin cancer was diagnosed after an analysis of moles removed during an operation in 2023 for breast cancer, during which she underwent a single mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

January 26: King Charles is admitted to the London Clinic for a three-day stay for his prostate treatment. After the operation, Queen Camilla is reported as telling people that her husband was “doing well”.

January 29: Princess Catherine and King Charles are discharged from the hospital.

February 5: At 6pm, Buckingham Palace announces that Charles has cancer and has already started treatment as an outpatient. The cancer was detected during his prostate procedure but is not prostate cancer. No other details are disclosed. He won’t be carrying out public-facing duties but will work behind the scenes.

February 6: King Charles is seen in public, smiles and waves at passers-by.

February 21: King Charles is back at work for the first time since revealing his cancer diagnosis. He is filmed shaking hands with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace.

March 10: Kensington Palace releases a photo of Catherine and her three children to mark Mother’s Day. It’s the first official photo of the princess since her operation and is shared with the media. However, it is retracted hours later by major news agencies concerned it was digitally manipulated.

March 11: To quell speculation about the photo and her health, Catherine explains she has experimented with photo editing and apologises for any confusion.

March 19: An investigation was reportedly launched at The London Clinic over a staff member allegedly trying to access Catherine’s medical records.

A false story about King Charles’ death appears in Russian media. It says he died on March 18. A later newsflash from TASS, the Russian state news agency, confirmed he was alive.

March 22: In a video address, Catherine announces she has cancer. It was discovered post-operatively, and she is in the early phase of having preventive chemotherapy. She says she is well and getting stronger every day.

She made the recording two days earlier, but its release was timed for 6pm on Friday – the start of school holidays. Reporting becomes sober and respectful.