Oncologist reveals difficult side effects of chemotherapy include tiredness, nausea and hair loss – as Princess of Wales undergoes ‘preventative’ cancer treatment

A top oncologist has revealed the possible side effects the Princess of Wales could face if she undergoes ‘preventative’ cancer chemotherapy.

Princess Catherine may experience fatigue, nausea and vomiting while being treated for the disease, says Dr. Matt Williams.

The future queen, who could also have problems with her body producing enough red and white blood cells, increasing the risk of infection.

Dr. Williams, a consultant at The London Clinic, where Kate underwent major abdominal surgery in January, said she could experience some hair loss depending on the medications she is taking.

It comes days after the mother-of-three shocked the nation by revealing she was diagnosed with cancer after surgery and is being given medication to prevent the disease from returning.

The world has rallied behind the Princess of Wales since she announced the news in a televised address on Friday evening, with thousands sending well wishes.

The 42-year-old revealed doctors had discovered an unspecified form of cancer and she is undergoing ‘preventive’ chemotherapy.

Dr. Williams told ITV News that the medications Kate is taking will have some impact on her quality of life.

‘The side effects of chemotherapy depend somewhat on the medicines you take, but generally include fatigue, nausea, perhaps vomiting, blood count problems and the risk of infection,’ he said.

“Some people will lose their hair, but that largely depends on exactly what medications you’re taking.”

Professor Pat Price, an academic clinical oncologist at Imperial College, said these types of side effects are to be expected.

She previously said: ‘These treatments can look like tablets or medicines that are injected. It depends on the type of cancer and they are given continuously or intermittently.

‘They can of course also affect the normal cells in your body, which can sometimes cause side effects.

“Hopefully she can handle that and then the chemotherapy will do what it’s supposed to do, and then it’ll be over and hopefully she’ll be fine.”

The preventive treatment Kate carries out, also known as adjuvant chemotherapy, aims to prevent the cancer from returning once the main tumor has been removed from the body.

Cancer can spread to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis, in which small cancer cells break off the main tumor and take root elsewhere.

These “new” cancers can be difficult to detect, so doctors who specialize in treating cancer, called oncologists, often advise patients to undergo preventive chemotherapy in an attempt to eliminate any remaining traces of the disease.

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Preventive chemotherapy is usually administered as an infusion or tablets, where they are then carried throughout the body by the bloodstream.

Depending on the type, chemotherapy can be administered in a hospital or at the patient’s home.

There are more than 100 types of chemotherapy drugs, but they all work in a similar way and circulate through the blood.

The drugs are cytotoxic, meaning they are toxic to cells and especially to cells that are dividing rapidly.

Because cancer cells divide more than healthy cells, they are more affected by chemotherapy, which is why it is used as a treatment for the disease.

However, other types of fast-growing cells, such as hair, bone marrow, skin and the lining of the digestive system, are also damaged.

This leads to some of the famous side effects of chemotherapy, such as hair loss or thinning, fatigue, easier bruising and bleeding, an increased risk of infection, diarrhea or constipation, nausea or vomiting, rash, and more.

Often a patient undergoing chemotherapy is also taking other medications intended to alleviate or combat some of these symptoms.

The specific dosage and type of chemotherapy used varies depending on the type of cancer.

The effectiveness of preventive chemotherapy varies considerably from patient to patient.

Factors that influence its success include the specific type of cancer, when the cancer was originally treated, the patient’s age, and whether he or she has any other health problems.

The specific type of cancer Kate has has not been revealed.

Although only one in ten cases of cancer occur in people under the age of 50, experts are warning of an ‘epidemic’ of the disease among young people.

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According to Cancer Research UK, more than 375,000 cases of cancer are discovered in the UK every year, the equivalent of 1,000 every day.

UK figures suggest the 25 to 49 age group contributes to around a tenth (9 percent) of new cases, with almost twice as many women as men in some age groups.

More than a third (36 percent) of new cancer cases occur on average in people aged 75 and older.

Adults aged 50 to 75, meanwhile, account for more than half (54 percent) of all new cases.

Cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon make up the vast majority of new diagnoses, accounting for about half in total.

Dr. Shivan Sivakumar, an oncologist at the University of Birmingham, said: ‘There is currently an epidemic of young people getting cancer – under 50s.

‘The cause of this is unknown.’

Professor Andrew Beggs, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Birmingham, said: ‘Cancer that develops at a young age is by no means rare.

‘I run a clinic for early-stage cancer in adults and we are seeing more and more people in their 40s with cancer.’

Professor Lawrence Young, an expert in molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, added: ‘Cancer survival is generally higher in younger people.

‘Early diagnosis and better treatments result in better outcomes, with survival rates doubling over the past 50 years.’

Figures show that approximately one in two people will develop a form of cancer during their lifetime.