Kate says cancer is ‘life-changing' for patients and their loved ones
Kate, wearing a brown blazer and brown trousers, said the recovery journey from cancer is a 'rollercoaster' as she discussed treatment and the importance of holistic cancer care with patients, volunteers and staff at Colchester Hospital's Wellbeing Centre on Wednesday.
The princess, who revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer in March last year, praised the centre's 'holistic' approach to the support it offers patients, relatives and carers which includes counselling and dietary advice.
While chatting to a group of the centre's users, volunteers and staff, the princess said: 'You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment, treatment's done, then it's like 'I can crack on, get back to normal' but actually the phase afterwards is really, you know, difficult you're not necessarily under the clinical team any longer but you're not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to and actually someone to help talk you through that, show you and guide you through that sort of phase that comes after treatment I think is really valuable.'
She said: 'It's life changing for anyone, through first diagnosis or post-treatment and things like that, it is life changing experience both for the individual patient but also for the families as well and actually it sometimes goes unrecognised, you don't necessarily, particularly when it's the first time, you don't appreciate how much impact it is going to have.
'You have to find your new normal and that takes time.
'Someone described the sort of healing, recovery journey to me as being like a sort of zig-zag.
'It's a rollercoaster, it's not one smooth plain, which you expect it to be, but the reality is it's not, you go through hard times and to have a place like this, to have the support network, whether its through creativity and singing or gardening, whatever it might be, is so valuable and it's great that this community has it.
'It would be great if lots of communities had this kind of support.'
She added: 'There is this whole phase when you finish your treatment that you, yourself, everybody expects you, right you've finished your time, go, you're better, and that's not the case at all.'
Kate praised the wellbeing centre for being in the hospital grounds because 'it's quite hard to always reach out, particularly when you're vulnerable'.
After visiting the centre, the princess braved the drizzly weather to plant several coral-pink Catherine's Rose plants in the hospital's Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Wellbeing Garden.
The RHS named the flower after Kate to raise awareness of the role that spending time outdoors plays in supporting people's mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
Foregoing gardening gloves which were offered to her, she knelt down to plant the roses using her bare hands and a trowel to pat down the soil alongside Adam Frost, the award-winning garden designer who led the design of the space.
Opened in July last year, the wellbeing garden at the hospital offers a relaxing and restorative space for NHS staff, patients and visitors.
Funds from the sale of Catherine's Rose, bred by Harkness Roses, will go to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to help the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust establish a training programme for clinical teams across the country to help patients who need intensive support live well with and after cancer.
The princess revealed in January she was in remission from cancer after making an emotional return to the specialist cancer institution, the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, where she was treated.
Some 500 rose plants are being donated by Harkness Roses and Kensington Palace to wellbeing and community gardens across the UK this summer.
At the end of her visit, the princess greeted the small crowd that had gathered outside the wellbeing centre, including nurses and children, and posed for selfies in the rain.
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Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Princess Anne's injuries after mystery horse accident were 'so much worse' than the public knew
Princess Anne 's injuries after suffering a concussion last year were 'much worse' than the public knew at the time, it has been revealed. The Princess Royal, 74, was admitted to intensive care last June with concussion and head injuries after reportedly being kicked by a horse at her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. She was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol for tests, treatment and observation, before returning to duties that July. Now, a source said to know Anne well has told The Sunday Times that her accident was 'so much worse' than worse initially revealed at the time. They said: 'Her accident was so much worse than anyone let on and it took quite a while for her to feel herself again.' Following her accident, Anne was forced to miss at least nine engagements, including a trip to Canada and a banquet for the Japanese State Visit in London. When Anne returned to work in July, she was seen sporting a black eye. Prince William and Kate shared a rare personal message on X/Twitter, writing: 'Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon. W&C x.' The royal, a skilled horsewoman who competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, was going for a walk when the incident occurred. The Princess Royal is often regarded as the 'hardest working' member of the royal family, despite being a decade past the age of retirement. Last year, Anne clocked up 474 engagements, with King Charles completing 372. A former aide told the Times that they would often suggest Anne should tone-down her workload - but all to no avail. They said: 'I'd look at the diary and suggest, "Ma'am, you really can't do another weekend of engagements, it's your third weekend in a row." '"Why not?" she would say. 'Because I'll get a rocket from your husband on Monday asking, "When are we going to spend some time together".' She has been a cornerstone in the King's slimmed-down working monarchy, and has played a big role by stepping up in support of Charles amid his cancer diagnosis. The Princess is known for her no-nonsense approach and her commitment to royal duty, and the King made a point of making public his 'fondest love and well-wishes' for his sister after her accident. Anne was understood at the time to have been taking an evening stroll on her estate with horses nearby when she was hurt. The Princess was left with minor wounds to the head. Her medical team are understood to believe the injuries were consistent with a potential impact from a horse's head or legs. In January, speaking out about the accident for the first time, Anne said she remembers 'nothing' about it. Talking at the Grand Military Cup Day at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey, after a whirlwind trip to South Africa, Anne revealed that she was on the way to see chickens on her estate when the accident happened. When questioned whether the last thing she recalled was walking into a field, Anne said: 'No, I don't even remember that. 'I know where I thought I was going and that was to go to the chickens, no, nothing to do with horses.' She added that seeing the chickens was 'my regular visit, I don't have any idea what I was doing in the field, because I never normally went that way. 'It just... shows you - you never quite know, something [happens], and you might not recover.' Anne spent five nights in hospital after the accident on June 23 and did not return to public royal duties until almost three weeks later. Asked about any lasting ill effects, she lightened the mood and joked: 'Apparently not, at least I don't think so. As far as I know, nobody else thinks so - they haven't been honest enough to tell me yet. So far so good.' She added: 'You are sharply reminded that every day is a bonus really.' Interviewed after a whirlwind two-day tour of Cape Town, Anne also discussed her future and was asked whether retirement was an option, she replied: 'It really isn't written in, no. It isn't really an option, no, I don't think so. Her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, did retire from royal duties in 2017, but he was 96 when he took the decision and had supported Queen Elizabeth II for more than 65 years at the time. Anne is known for her busy work schedule, and as she approaches her 75th birthday in August, the royal will continue to lead the monarchy in various engagements. She carried out her first public engagement in 1969 aged 18 when she opened an educational and training centre in Shropshire, and a year later, she began her longest association with a charity, becoming president of Save the Children and later patron. Anne has two children - Peter Phillips, 47, and Zara Tindall, 44 - from her first marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, before their divorce in 1992. 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The Princess did not shy away from the task of representing the family at the Trooping the Colour festivities on Saturday - as fans noted the similarities between Charlotte and the 'hardest-working' royal. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one person wrote online: 'I think the daughter Princess [Charlotte] will be a force, just like Princess Anne is.' Another made the same connection, writing of the youngster's parade appearance: 'Princess Charlotte is giving Princess Anne vibes here! She is such a beautiful little girl!' Many pointed to the apparent fortitude of the female royals, with one fan saying: 'The females are the strength, including Princess Anne.' A classic picture of tradition and elegance, Anne has a loyal fanbase. One watcher of the elaborate procession wrote: 'Princess Anne is such an amazing lady. Dedicated, loyal, and hard working. A credit to the Royal family.'
The Sun
17-07-2025
- The Sun
We thought Dad was just dehydrated when he collapsed in the garden and ‘died' – then the unbelievable happened
STEVE Dalton was doing what any doting grandfather would - helping build a new play area for his grandkids in the garden. It had been a long day, with the 64-year-old digging at concrete from 9am. Then at 4pm, tragedy struck when, to the horror of his panic-stricken family, Steve collapsed and turned blue. 11 Daughter Kate, 29, from Colchester, Essex, says: 'I was watching out of the window and he looked quite unwell. 'I ran outside and he started having a seizure so my husband phoned the ambulance. 'I was panicking. It was horrific, and there are no words to explain how scary it is. 'Dad sat up, pointed at me and said he was alright, then had another seizure. 'He went completely blue from the chest up, including his head and ears. 'My brother [Sam, 40] gave him CPR. He's had no medical training, he's just seen it in films and he went for it.' Kate and mum Lindy, 65, an accountant assistant, knelt down and prayed - despite not being religious - as Sam continued CPR until paramedics arrived eight minutes later. Kate says: 'I broke down. It was the longest eight minutes of our lives. It was insane. 'I was saying to my husband, 'We've done this, we've killed him.'' Steve had suffered a cardiac arrest, which is when the heart suddenly stops. As blood stops pumping around the body, vital organs are starved of oxygen. It usually happens without warning - a person usually collapses suddenly, unresponsive and unconscious. Kate says: 'A seizure isn't the first thing you think of when someone is having a heart issue. 'We thought he was dehydrated or had worked too hard. He was also doing agonal breathing, which is long drawn out breaths, but we didn't know that's not actually breathing.' A cardiac arrest needs immediate treatment (CPR). Because the heart has stopped, the person is effectively dead until circulation and breathing can be restored. Until then, CPR helps keep the blood pumping around the body. Kate says: 'He died for 45 minutes and had to be shocked six times." 11 At the hospital, doctors confirmed Steve had suffered a cardiac arrest. They explained his heart was very enlarged and was unlikely to back down to normal size. He was put in a coma and medics warned he only had a two per cent chance of survival and that if he did wake up, he'd likely be brain damaged due to lack of oxygen. Kate says: 'I screamed, 'You're wrong, you don't know my dad'. I was furious that this man said he wouldn't survive. 'I had to call my sister and say, 'Dad's dead'. We were sure he was gone and I can't describe how it felt. There isn't a single pain like it. 'I've never had a loss and my dad truly is my best friend in the world.' Family's goodbyes On the doctor's advice, his children and siblings gathered at his bedside to say their goodbyes. "You can't comprehend how painful it is until it happens to you," says Kate. 'We grieved him. He looked dead and he was cold. We tried to talk to him and said we loved him, we were proud of him and asked him to come back. 'That night was the worst of our entire lives. Me and my mum held each other and took it in turns to cry. 'She didn't want to go back to the house without him. She froze over, she was beside herself because she'd lost her husband. 'We were waiting for a phone call saying we needed to go to the hospital and every time the phone went, our hearts sank.' Why does cardiac arrest occur? A cardiac arrest is when your heart suddenly stops pumping blood around your body. It is caused by a dangerous abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia), which happens when the electrical system in the heart isn't working properly, the British Heart Foundation says. "Not all abnormal heart rhythms are life-threatening, but some mean that the heart cannot pump blood around the body," the charity explains. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is an example of a dangerous heart rhythm that can lead to a cardiac arrest. This is when the heart quivers or 'fibrillates' instead of pumps. Some conditions can cause abnormal heart rhythms and in turn, a cardiac arrest if they're severe or left untreated: cardiomyopathies (disease of the heart muscle) and inherited heart conditions which affect the electrical system of the heart, such as Brugada syndrome congenital heart disease – a heart condition or defect you get before you're born heart valve disease – when one or more of your heart valves don't work properly severe or untreated myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle. Other causes of cardiac arrest include a heart attack, a severe haemorrhage (losing a large amount of blood), a drop in oxygen levels or a drug overdose. Source: British Heart Foundation But the family would receive a phone call the next morning that would change everything. The unbelievable had happened - Steve, a manufacturing company director, was trying to wake up. The mum and daughter rushed to the hospital and doctors decided to try to bring him out of his coma. I died for 45 minutes, they got all the family to say goodbye to me. It's awful and devastating. Steve Kate says: 'They reduced his sedation and literally as she pressed the button, his eyes pinged open. I asked him if he knew who I was and he nodded. It was unreal. 'He was put back into a coma because he became unwell again. The day after, we got a phone call from the hospital and the nurse's voice sounded negative. 'Then she said 'hold on' and the next voice was my dad's saying hello to my mum. We jumped up and down. We were so overwhelmed. 'We went to see him and he was sat up, no breathing tube, and no ounce of brain damage.' 11 Steve was talking just two days after the ordeal. He says: 'The last thing I remember is being in the garden, then I woke up two-and-a-half days later. 'Sam is my hero - I'll have to put his pocket money up because if he wasn't there, the outcome would be very different now. 'I was in a coma but then I came to and there was a bit of euphoria because you've survived. 'I died for 45 minutes, they got all the family to say goodbye to me. It's awful and devastating.' Steve spent two weeks in hospital and has had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator fitted under the skin in the chest. The electrical device may be fitted if someone has had a cardiac arrest before, or they have a heart condition that can cause an arrhythmia. Doctors do not know why Steve had a cardiac arrest, however. Amazingly, he was back at work just one week after being discharged. He says: 'I'm not someone who dwells on things so after a week I was ready to go and carry on. 'I feel lucky to be here. I have to be around. I've got seven children and 17 grandchildren. I can't afford to go.' Kate threw a 'recovery' party for her 'best friend and hero' dad, saying: 'He's brilliant. Dad is so grateful to be here and has a whole new lease of life. 'He says 'I died' and he felt so guilty that he put us through that but obviously, we don't blame him.' The family have set up a fundraising page for SCA UK, a peer support organisation dedicated to helping improve the lives of those who survive a cardiac arrest. They also want to help raise awareness of the early signs of a cardiac arrest. Kate says: 'It's really important to know the early signs of cardiac arrest and when CPR is needed.' Steve adds: 'Knowing CPR and when to respond quickly can save so many lives. 'Everything happened quickly for me. Sam acted quickly, the paramedics were there quickly and the doctors and nurses were incredible.' * You can donate to Kate's fundraisier for Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK here. 11 11
South Wales Argus
17-07-2025
- South Wales Argus
Warning issued to homeowners as caterpillar destroys gardens
Homeowners are being urged to keep an eye on their gardens this summer as experts warn of an expected surge in damage caused by a fast-spreading invasive pest – the box tree moth caterpillar. Ecology specialists at Arbtech have raised the alarm over the caterpillars as they are a species that's wreaking havoc on box hedging and topiary plants across the UK. The caterpillars, which are the larvae of the box tree moth, feed on box leaves and bark, often leaving once-pristine shrubs brown, bare, and beyond saving in a matter of days. This species of caterpillar can easily destroy plants (Image: Getty) Are box tree moth caterpillars dangerous for humans or pets? These caterpillars don't pose a direct threat to humans or pets, but they are said to be a nightmare for avid gardeners, especially those with ornamental hedges or neatly clipped box borders. First spotted in the UK in 2007, box tree moths have spread rapidly, with sightings now common in gardens across southern and central England. Numbers typically spike between April and October, with multiple generations hatching during the warmer months, leading to new waves of hungry caterpillars. Activity is particularly high in July and August, and if left untreated, infestations can be devastating, with heavily infested plants often needing to be removed and replaced altogether. Plants that could damage the value of your home 'Many people don't realise there's a problem until it's too late' An ecologist from Arbtech said: 'Box tree moth caterpillars might look harmless, but they're an invasive species that can strip a healthy plant in no time - and because they often feed from the inside out, many people don't realise there's a problem until it's too late. 'Box hedging is hugely popular in British gardens, so this species is having a serious impact not just aesthetically, but financially too. 'We're urging homeowners to check their plants regularly over the summer months. Look for tell-tale signs like webbing, leaf loss, or green-and-black striped caterpillars.' Describing the caterpillars, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said: 'It is native to East Asia and became established in Europe in 2007. 'Although the first adult moth arrived in Britain in 2007, followed by several moths to light traps in 2008, caterpillars were not found in private gardens until 2011 in the home counties.' How to prevent box tree moth caterpillar damaging your garden The team at Arbtech have shared some tips to help you prevent the box tree moth caterpillar from damaging your garden. Look for chewed leaves, sudden browning or thinning patches in your plants as they could be caused by these caterpillars (Image: Getty) Check box plants weekly for signs of leaf loss or webbing Regular checks are the best way to catch an infestation early. Box tree caterpillars often start feeding from inside the plant, so damage might not be obvious straight away. Look for chewed leaves, sudden browning or thinning patches. Webbing in the centre of the plant, often mistaken for spider silk, is a common sign. You may also spot black pellets (droppings) around the base or within the foliage. Look out for green caterpillars with black heads and white stripes Box tree caterpillars are bright green with black heads and thick black and white stripes running down their bodies. Most are around 2-4cm long. You'll often find them hidden deep inside the plant, especially on the underside of leaves or in sheltered spots. As numbers grow, they may spread outwards and become more visible. How to get rid of these common garden pests If you spot one, it's likely there are more nearby. Catching them early is key to avoiding serious damage to your box plants. Remove caterpillars by hand where possible For small infestations, you can remove caterpillars by hand - just make sure to wear gloves. The earlier you treat the problem, the more likely you are to save the plant. Timing is crucial - aim to treat when the caterpillars are actively feeding, typically in late spring and again in late summer. Dispose of affected clippings carefully to avoid spreading the moth If you prune or remove an infested plant, dispose of the clippings responsibly. Don't compost them at home, as eggs or larvae could survive and spread. Instead, bag up the waste and take it to a local recycling centre that handles green waste or follow your council's guidance. It's also a good idea to clean your tools afterwards to prevent spreading the caterpillars or their eggs to healthy plants. Careful disposal plays a big role in limiting the spread of the box tree moth - especially in areas where it's already established, the specialists at Arbtech explain. Avoid unnecessary pruning in peak months Pruning stimulates new, soft growth, which is exactly what box tree caterpillars love to eat. Recommended reading: To avoid attracting them, try not to prune during peak activity months (usually April to September). If trimming is needed, do it in late autumn or winter when caterpillars are inactive. Over-pruning in summer not only weakens the plant but also makes it more attractive to egg-laying moths. Keeping your box plants in good shape without excessive cutting will help reduce their vulnerability to infestations and keep your garden looking healthier for longer.
