Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, head of the breast and gynecologic medical oncology department at Valley Health System and clinical assistant professor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explained that preventive chemotherapy is also referred to as adjuvant chemotherapy. Either way, the terms simply refer to chemotherapy that “is given in certain cancer types to reduce the risk of recurrence.”
According to Dr. Teplinsky, we have no way of knowing exactly what kind of cancer Kate Middleton has. “There are many cancers that can be present in the abdominal area,” she maintained. Due to that unknown, Dr. Teplinsky said that Kate’s side effects could vary greatly depending upon the type of chemotherapy the princess receives and for how long. “While each chemotherapy agent has specific side effects, there are some general chemotherapy side effects which may include hair loss, fatigue, loss of appetite or taste, gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, and low blood counts which create an immunosuppressed state,” she advised. Dr. Teplinsky was adamant, however, that “navigating both the physical and mental health impacts of a cancer diagnosis and treatment can be very challenging both during active treatment and during the survivorship period.”
