Kate Middleton, who is facing “good days and bad days” due to chemotherapy

Despite his surprise appearance at the parade Trooping the Colours reassured a little, it was impossible not to notice his always beautiful smile, but in some moments pulled. However, having undergone surgery for abdominal cancer last Marchin a recent post on Instagram, Kate Middleton had already shared new informationi on her health: “I’m making good progress, but as anyone who goes through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days. On those bad days you feel weak, tired, and have to surrender to your body’s rest. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling good. I’m learning to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take the much-needed time to heal.”

«From what we have been able to gather, Middleton – explains Professor Max DiMaio, Director of University Oncology Molinette Hospital – City of Health of Turin – is doing a adjuvant chemotherapy treatmentthat is, a therapy of prevention after an operation.”

Chemotherapy is used to fight cancer, using drugs that kill cancer cells or stop them from growing and dividing. It can be highly effective, but it is also known to have significant side effects.” So Princess Catherine, like many other people undergoing treatment, has to face a series of physical and emotional challenges which vary from day to day.

«Chemotherapy can cause a wide range of side effects – continues Di Maio – tAmong the most common ones there are there nauseathe extreme fatigue or fatigue, there hair lossand a general weakening of the immune system which makes the patient more susceptible to infections. These symptoms not only affect the body, but can also have a deep impact on the mental health It is on emotional well-being of the person”.

When the Princess of Wales explains that she is facing «good days and bad days»probably refers to the «fluctuation of symptoms and physical and emotional sensations that characterize the path of those who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment”, Di Maio specifies. “This means that on good days Kate could feel more energetic and able to carry out some of her daily activities and public commitments, vice versa on bad days she could “feel very tried and exhausted and therefore be forced to rest and take care of oneself.”

Fatigue, nausea, hair loss: the most impactful effects on daily life

“Doing general considerations on chemotherapy – Di Maio continues – without going into the specificity of some drugs, two symptoms in particular come to mind that could be the cause for the princess of ups and downs daysgood and less good: tiredness or fatigue And there nauseaoften accompanied by vomit. Fatigue, a well-known disorder, is perhaps the consequence of chemotherapy that has the greatest impact on daily life. This type of tiredness – he continues – is abnormal and frustrating: it is not in fact the typical exhaustion linked to physical activity or the day gone by, because you feel tired even without having done anything: sabove all, does not improve with rest“. Because of this, In the case of fatigue, cancer patients are advised to avoid staying still for too long, because the feeling of asthenia and tiredness worsens in this way.: «I always recommend doing some physical activity right from the start of therapy, moving around and not always staying in bed or on the couch. Because otherwise not only will the symptoms not disappear, but your mood will actually get worse».

The importance of proper nutrition

Some women are also particularly sensitive to other side effects of chemotherapy treatment, such as hair loss or nausea: these two side effects can also cause a mood and a fluctuating state of mind. While Kate doesn’t appear to have lost her hair, we have seen her very thin: «often – suggests Di Maio – nausea and loss of appetite they occur together. In particular, the lack of appetite is due to a different perception of the taste of food, which becomes metallic and almost ferrous. Or sometimes the chemo can trigger an inflammation of the oral cavity, the stomatitiswhich when severe can make difficult to eat and eat a meal with taste and appetite».

However it is fundamental for a person undergoing chemotherapy to be strong: the main rule is precisely prevent the body from becoming weakened due to poor or bad nutrition. The patient undergoing chemotherapy must ensure that the ratio between calories introduced and energy expended is in favor of the former. Fortunately, «unlike a few years ago, today we have many more weapons to prevent chemotherapy nausea: Are made premedications (drug administration before chemotherapy) effective (even if still, as Di Maio specifies, the control is not perfect especially in the days following the first chemotherapy treatment: generally the peak of nausea and tiredness usually occurs four or five days after the beginning of the therapeutic course: then, it tends to improve. the ideal to have fewer side effects, and so a less impact of the treatments on the quality of life, it would be possible to do a test on each patient administration of lower doses of the drug with a treatment every weekrather than a high dose every three weeks. It has been proven that lower doses administered more frequently are better tolerated. However, this clearly then depends on the type of tumor the patient has.”