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9 months ago
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Kate Middleton’s Friday video announcement of her cancer diagnosis may have shed some light on why she’s been out of the public eye lately — and there has been an outpouring of support for her and the royal family ever since — but it left another looming question in its wake.
What kind of cancer does the Princess of Wales have?
While experts agree that Middleton is entitled to medical privacy and is under no obligation to reveal the details of her condition — and that few people know her specific medical details — some doctors have shared ideas and theories about the potential origins of the disease based on their own expertise.
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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, said he's spoken with multiple cancer doctors about the possible origins of the princess’ cancer diagnosis based on earlier available information.
"According to several top oncologists I spoke to, she likely has either an early colon cancer that was removed and cured surgically, or early ovarian, uterine or cervical cancer that was found incidentally."
It has been reported in previous years that Middleton has Crohn’s disease, which is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease affecting the lining of the digestive tract.
"Inflammatory bowel disease greatly increases the risk for colon or bowel cancer," Siegel added.
It's been widely reported that Middleton had major abdominal surgery in January.
A large share of Crohn’s patients — up to half — will need surgery at some point to alleviate symptoms, according to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
"She could have been having bowel surgery for the Crohn’s and they later found it on pathology," Siegel hypothesized, once again stressing a professional guess based on years of experience.
That kind of surgery would also explain the more extensive recovery time, he added.
Chemotherapy for colon or bowel cancer would include Oxiplatin (intravenous) and Xeloda (oral) for several weeks, according to Siegel.
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It is also possible that gynecological cancer could have been detected, experts say.
"[The surgery] could have been a hysterectomy, and she may have been found to have ovarian, uterine or cancer of the cervix, which was local and removed," Siegel surmised.
"But going against this [idea] is that there is no sign of hair loss, which is caused by Taxol, the predominant intravenous treatment for these gynecological cancers."
Ovarian cysts may be seen on routine imaging and can be removed laparoscopically — and the diagnosis of cancer is often found later, the doctor said.
The chemo that is administered for early-stage colon cancer doesn't routinely cause hair loss, Siegel noted.
Whatever type of cancer the princess has or had — Siegel said he has hope that her prognosis could be good.
"I have diagnosed a lot of cancer [cases], unfortunately, but more and more, it's early enough to be cured," he said.
"Whatever type of cancer it is, they appear to have gotten it out."
In her video message, Middleton said she has begun a treatment regimen of "preventative chemotherapy."
"The good news is that the word ‘preventative’ was used, which would mean that the cancer was removed in its entirety, presumably by bowel resection, and that the chemo is being given to increase the chances of no recurrence," Siegel said.
The chances of a recurrence are much lower with chemotherapy, the doctor added.
Above all, Siegel emphasized Middleton’s right to privacy.
"We need to respect her privacy and show compassion and empathy, especially given her young age and young children," he told Fox News Digital.
"These records should be sacrosanct," he also said about her personal medical details.
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On Friday in her video message, Middleton revealed that after her abdominal surgery, doctors initially believed her "condition was non-cancerous," but further testing proved otherwise.
"My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment," she shared.
Angelica Stabile and Caroline Thayer, both of Fox News Digital, contributed reporting.
