Catherine, Princess of Wales, visited the RHS's Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital and discussed her recovery from cancer treatment. Photo / Getty Images
The Princess of Wales has spoken of the pressure of putting on a “brave face” through cancer treatment and recovery, where “everybody expects you to be better – go! But that’s not the case at all”.
The princess, who is continuing her return to public life while in remission from cancer, said there was an expectation that patients “crack on, get back to normal”.
But, she said, the “very scary, very daunting experience” did not end with the conclusion of treatment, with patients needing to take time to find their “new normal”.
Kate’s deeply personal words came as she met patients at a cancer wellbeing centre at Colchester Hospital in Essex, helping to plant roses in a garden designed to help visitors find peace.
Kate is gradually returning to work and recently cancelled an appearance at Royal Ascot.
Describing a cancer diagnosis as “life changing” and the treatment and recovery a “rollercoaster”, the princess spoke of the importance of a holistic “mind, body and spirit” approach.
She repeatedly emphasised the importance of patients and their families being able to find support through their illness, saying it was too often difficult to reach.
Speaking to patients and volunteers inside the centre, she said: “There is a whole phase when you finish your treatment, everybody expects you to be better – go! But that’s not the case at all.”
She said: “You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment. Treatment’s done, then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal’ but actually the phase afterwards is really difficult.
“You’re not necessarily under the clinical team any longer but you’re not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.
“And, actually, someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment I think is really valuable.”
She added: “You have to find your new normal and that takes time.”
The centre provides therapy, community groups and holistic treatments, including reflexology.
Speaking to therapist Amanda Green during a walkabout in heavy rain afterwards, Kate disclosed that she had not yet tried reflexology but had acupuncture as part of her own health journey.
The discussions were Kate’s most personal and extensive insight into her experience to date, seeing her reference her own ill health several times while empathising with patients and families.
“It’s life-changing for anyone,” she said. “Through first diagnosis or post-treatment and things like that, it is a life-changing experience both for the patient but also for the families as well.
“And actually it sometimes goes unrecognised, you don’t necessarily, particularly when it’s the first time [of diagnosis], appreciate how much impact it is going to have.
“You have to find your new normal and that takes time ... and it’s a rollercoaster, it’s not one smooth plane, which you expect it to be. But the reality is it’s not, you go through hard times.
“And to have a place like this to have the support network, through creativity and singing or gardening, whatever it might be, is so valuable and it’s great this community has it.
“It would be great if lots of communities had this kind of support.”
Speaking to patients, including those whose cancer has returned and one who had lost his husband to cancer, the princess asked how the centre had helped them.
“That first-time diagnosis is a very scary journey,” she said, referring to the benefits of having an on-site hospital support network where many volunteers have had cancer themselves and survived. Many newly diagnosed patients at Colchester Hospital now visit the centre immediately for counselling and advice.
“To feel a sense of hope and positivity [from speaking to people who have already been through it] is such a positive thing in what is otherwise a very scary and daunting experience,” the princess said.
She added that “science has told us that the mind, body and spirit experience is so important”, asking if the clinical team at the hospital had given any feedback about how the wellness centre had affected patients.
After around an hour at the centre, the princess moved into the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital where she helped plant roses named after her.
Getting her hands dirty and asking if she could do a bit more work, Kate dug alongside Adam Frost, the television garden designer, and told him she was feeling “good” and was pleased to be able to work outside.
In the pouring rain, as the engagement overran by about half an hour, she told hospital staff and patients who had waited outside to see her: “I’m just washing my hands – I’ll be back.”
She then undertook a walkabout, posing for selfies and group photographs in between asking people about their day.
Kensington Palace said the princess was there to “celebrate the incredible healing power of nature and raise awareness of the important role that spending time in nature plays in bringing us joy and supporting our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing”.
Wearing casual brown trousers, an open-necked striped shirt, jacket and trainers, Kate arrived at Colchester Hospital with little fanfare, walking through the public garden as one mother told her little girl: “That’s a real-life princess, there!”
The garden has been designed alongside a small lake, with ducks and ducklings walking among the visitors and a planting scheme including lavender, roses, salvia, allium and grasses.
Meeting staff inside, Kate praised the continuity of care the hospital provided and the network of volunteers which saw former patients returning to help others.
“It must make a difference to people coming in here, in knowing there are people who have been through it too,” she said. “Even through the hard times and loss, there is a sense of hope and community through a space like this.”
“From personal experience,” Kate added, holistic support during recovery “was that lifeline you need post-treatment, when you’re not receiving continuous care.”