Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, announces cancer diagnosis

Catherine Princess of Wales on Friday announced that she has cancer and is in the early stages of chemotherapy asking for time space and privacy as she completes her treatmentKate as she is widely known said the discovery of cancer after successful abdominal surgery in January was a huge shock but she was well and getting stronger every dayThe disclosure came after royal officials said in February that King Charles III was being treated for cancer forcing him to cancel all public engagementsCharles said he was so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did leading messages of support including from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the White HouseKates brother James Middleton posted a photograph of himself with his sister as children on Instagram commenting Over the years we have climbed many mountains togetherAs a family we will climb this one with you tooWilliams estranged USbased brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle said they wished health and healing for Kate and the familyPreventative chemoLike Charles the 42yearold princess whose husband Prince William is heir to the throne did not disclose the exact nature of the cancerBut she described the months since she went into hospital as incredibly tough for her William and their three young childrenIn January I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time it was thought that my condition was noncancerous she added in a video statement filmed on Wednesday at Windsor west of London where they liveThe surgery was successful However tests after the operation found cancer had been presentMy medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatmentPreventative chemotherapy is given after an operation to prevent recurrence said Shivan Sivakumar associate professor in oncology at the University of Birmingham in central EnglandThis is to attempt to destroy any circulating cancer cells he addedKate one of the most photographed women in the world is a central figure in the royal family and married Prince William 41 in 2011She said it had taken them time to explain the situation to Prince George aged 10 Princess Charlotte eight and fiveyearold Prince Louis and to reassure them that I am going to be OKWilliam Kate and their children are seen as the modern face of the British royal family and key to its future as it faces declining support particularly among younger peoplePalace officials will be hoping that the unusually candid disclosure will end speculation and rumours about her health and whereabouts particularly onlineOpenI think its important to know that theyre human just like us Hannah Dickerson visiting London from the United States told AFP outside Buckingham PalaceI think its very very good that theyre open about showing that theyre not afraid to hide itKate was last seen at a public engagement on December 25 when she joined the king and other senior royals at a Christmas Day church serviceKensington Palace announced on January 17 that she was facing up to two weeks in hospital and several months recuperation following abdominal surgeryShe was not expected to be ready to return to public duties until after Easter on March 31 a statement at the time saidRoyal officials did not disclose the exact nature of her condition but said it was not cancerrelatedThat announcement came shortly before a separate statement from Buckingham Palace that 75yearold Charles was to have surgery for a benign enlarged prostatePhoto controversyHe later spent three days at the same private hospital in central London Officials then said in early February that tests had identified a form of cancer without giving further detailsThe king has cancelled all public engagements except audiences with the prime minister and ambassadors and worked on official papers while undergoing treatmentHe has been photographed several times since then and been seen attending churchKensington Palace sought to end mounting questions about Kate releasing a Mothers Day photograph said to have been taken by WilliamBut the plan backfired after it was later found to have been digitally altered and saw leading news agencies including AFP pull the imageBritish media this week published new images of the princess walking with William at a farmers market near their Windsor homeThis week there were claims that an attempt may have been made to access Kates confidential medical records prompting a referral to the UK data protection watchdog