Kate Middleton said that she’s in remission from cancer nearly a year after revealing her diagnosis. But what does that mean for her future?
The Princess of Wales shared in March 2023 that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. She did not specify which type of cancer she had.
But on Wednesday, Jan. 14, she shared positive news in a social media post, writing, “It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focussed on recovery. As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal. I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. There is much to look forward to. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.”
While remission doesn’t necessarily mean that cancer has been eradicated, it represents an important and positive step forward in the recovery journey. “Remission means, after you’ve been treated for cancer, there is no evidence that there’s any cancer left,” Caroline Geraghty, a senior cancer information nurse at Cancer Research UK, told PEOPLE.
As the Cleveland Clinic says, remission is different from being cured. Oncologists “consider cancer to be cured if people have no signs or symptoms of cancer for at least five years after finishing treatment.”
Geraghty explains why the term is so important to survivors. “If you’ve particularly had a difficult time with treatment… not just the physical impact it can have on you and all the side effects…but that turmoil it causes in your mind and the anxiety and the worry and the stress it causes you and your family and your loved ones, to hear the word ‘remission’ kind of gives you, I suppose, a deep breath of relief.”
Remission can last for months or years. Although Princess Kate did not specify her next steps, patients usually follow up with their oncologists for regular scans and tests to ensure the cancer doesn’t come back, or recur. That happens when “cancer cells that are too small to see with the naked eye may start growing and spreading,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “Other times, cancer may come back because it finds ways to grow despite treatment.”
Some cancers are more likely to return than others. If the disease recurs, it may require years of chemotherapy or other treatments.
The Princess of Wales shared the news of her remission as she paid a surprise visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where she will join Prince William as a patron of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
In her statement, she also confirmed that she’d been treated at the Royal Marsden, writing on X, “I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to The Royal Marsden for looking after me so well during the past year. My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside William and me as we have navigated everything.”
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