Speculation about Cancer and Treatment

There is no doubt that the news that had come last night that the Princess of Wales is having treatment for suspected cancer and she like everyone else who has this terrible disease is deeply concerned about the prognosis and her future. However, there are about 3 million people in the United Kingdom at the moment (that is about 1 in 20 of the population) have been diagnosed with cancer, are having treatment or maintenance therapy to prevent it coming back. The Princess of Wales diagnosis has certainly raised the profile of cancer probably more so than her father-in-law King Charles but it does go to show that cancer does not discriminate about who areunfortunate to contract the disease. However, the thing that I find difficult to accept that living with someone who has been diagnosed with cancer do not like speculation about what it might be and how those diagnosed will respond to the treatment. Cancer and its treatment has to be based on fact which the oncology doctors and the other medical staff can only provide and speculation and statistics about survival rates only add to anxeity that cancer causes on society to those that have been diagnosed and they living with someone who has got it. Unfortunately, a lot of the media like to sensationalize about members of the Royal Family who do or have something out of the ordinary to raise their own profiles but at the same time where it is virtually impossible to avoid this sort of coverage that individual cancer sufferers can have increased anxiety where in fact that they need more reassurance about their conditions. Cancer has always been stigmatised with the worst case of anxiety where the symptoms of carcinophobia can be worse than the condition that the person has been diagnosed with but medicine has come on a long way and the survival rates are improving all the time with a vast array of different treatments that are available on both the NHS and also in the private medical sector as well. There is much more advanced knowledge now than there has ever been a new drugs and treatments are becoming available now which should increase hope and optimism about better outcomes in the future.

  • Thanks for posting cjb2, you've raised some interesting points. You're right, some of the information online about cancer can increase anxiety rather than being informative, but useful guidance and advice is available on our website and other trusted places. As you say, improvements in access to treatment and outcomes are happening, which hopefully will get better for more people in the future.

    Moderator Anastasia