Stop all the speculation.Catherine, Princess of WalesKate to those (many millions of people) who love herhascancer.
As I watchedKates brave announcementyesterday afternoon, I realized that I was barely breathing.
It is almost exactly eight years since I had to make the same announcement.
Photo: Getty Images
But I only had to make it to my family and friends.
I didnt have to politely ask anyone for privacy.
Kate with Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George in 2022.
Kate with Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George in 2022.
But on the inside, Im screaming.
My surgery to remove the tumor is scheduled for 10 February.
My childrens half term.
And thats when the tears come.
Mychildren…
At the time, my children were 10, seven and three.
George, Charlotte, and Louis Wales are 10, eight, and five.
Julia is wonderful, kind, and immensely knowledgeable.
She also happens to have been Catherines late mother-in-law, Dianas, best friend.
Practically, she said, the language should be simple.
Bad news and good news.
That it has been found and the doctors know exactly how to treat it.
OK, right, I said.
And here is where the bomb dropped.
You cant tell them that, Chloe, Julia said, gently.
Because that is a promise you might break.
Are you going to die?
Nobody knows the details of Kates cancer or her prognosis.
We know, firsthand, the full horror of what the next few months will hold.
She may lose her hair, her vivacity, sometimes even her sense of herself.
She will feel sick, poisoned, and bone tired.
A wonder in the astonishing beauty of the world.
An appreciation of the everyday.
A sharpening of focus.
A real and genuine sense of what truly matters in this life.
The truth is simple, and its the same whether youre royal or not.
What matters is being healthy.
What matters is loving and being loved.
Chloe Fox is an author and the host of the Late Fragments podcast.
you’ve got the option to find her @chlofox onXandInstagram
