MARIA ALL RIGHT, MIKE FIVE ON YOUR HEALTH NOW. WE HAVE BEEN REPORTING ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM KATE MIDDLETON. THIS AFTERNOON, REVEALING HER CANCER DIAGNOSIS. AND JOINING US RIGHT NOW IS DOCTOR MATTHEW STRICKLAND, A MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST AT MASS GENERAL. SO OBVIOUSLY WE’LL SAY THE THINGS YOU HAVE NOT TREATED THE PRINCESS RIGHT. SO YOU’RE NOT CONNECTED TO SAY THAT AT ALL. RIGHT? THAT’S CORRECT. ALL RIGHT. SO BUT YOU DO SPECIALIZE IN GASTROINTESTINAL CANCERS. SO ARE THOSE TYPES OF CANCERS THAT COULD BE DISCOVERED AFTER AN ABDOMINAL SURGERY. BECAUSE WE’RE OBVIOUSLY THE INFORMATION IS VERY THIN. WE’RE TOLD SHE HAD ABDOMINAL SURGERY AND NOW WE’RE TOLD SHE HAS CANCER BUT NOT SPECIFIC. THERE NOT BEING SPECIFIC RIGHT. YEAH I THINK THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. WE DON’T HAVE A LOT OF DETAILS TO GO ON. UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT, GENERALLY SPEAKING, WHEN A PATIENT HAS SYMPTOMS AND THEN MAYBE WE FIND SOMETHING ON A SCAN, WE ALWAYS ARE TRYING TO NAIL DOWN A TISSUE DIAGNOSIS, OFTEN WITH A BIOPSY. UM, MOST OF THE TIME WE CAN. AND THE INFORMATION FROM THAT WILL THEN ALLOW US TO DESIGN A TREATMENT PLAN THAT WILL INCLUDE SURGERY, AMONG OTHER OPTIONS. BUT I WILL SAY IT’S NOT UNCOMMON THAT SOMETIMES THERE’S STILL SOME DIAGNOSTIC UNCERTAINTY. WE AND FOR THAT REASON, WE DECIDE TO PROCEED WITH SURGERY AS THE FIRST STEP. AND THEN WE HAVE A LOT MORE TISSUE TO DO. ANALYSIS ON AND TO NAIL DOWN THAT DIAGNOSIS. LIKE I SAID, INTERESTING, INTERESTING. SO WE DID LEARN TODAY THAT THE DOCTORS IDENTIFIED HER CANCER AS ED JUST SAID AFTER SURGERY AND YOU BASICALLY JUST ANSWERED THIS QUESTION. SO THAT’S NOT UNUSUAL. IT’S NOT UNUSUAL. IT’S CERTAINLY HAPPENS IN OUR PRACTICE. UM, AND WE SEE IT. SO DOCTOR PRINCESS KATHERINE REVEALED TODAY IN HER IN HER STATEMENT THAT SHE’S UNDERGOING, WHICH I’M GOING TO QUOTE HER. SHE SAID SHE’S HAVING PREVENTATIVE CHEMOTHERAPY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I’M CURIOUS. NARROW THAT DOWN FOR US. OF COURSE, PREVENTATIVE CHEMOTHERAPY IS NOT REALLY A TERME WE USE, BUT I THINK THAT IT’S A FAIR, UM, EXTRAPOLATE OPTION TO, UM, CONSIDER THIS POST-OPERATIVE CHEMOTHERAPY AND THE OTHER WORD WE USE FOR THAT IS ADJUVANT. AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANS COMES AFTER SURGERY. OFTEN WHEN, YOU KNOW, SURGEONS ARE REALLY GREAT AT REMOVING ALL OF THE TUMOR THEY SEE WITH CLEAR MARGINS. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WE KNOW THAT THERE’S, UH, SOME SIGNIFICANT RATE OF MICROSCOPIC CANCER CELLS THAT CAN BE LEFT OVER. AND THAT’S REALLY THE ROLE FOR THERAPY THAT COMES AFTER SURGERY TO CLEAR OUT ANY REMAINING CANCER CELLS, OBVIOUSLY, TO PREVENT GROWTH IN THE FUTURE. DOCTOR, REALLY QUICKLY, SHE WASN’T SPECIFIC. AND OF COURSE, WE ALL HAVE THE PERSONAL RIGHT TO SAY WHAT IT IS WE WANT TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE, RIGHT? BUT AND WE DON’T WANT TO SPECULATE AS TO WHAT KIND OF CANCER IT COULD BE. BUT IF YOU SAY IT’S ABDOMINAL CANCER, THAT COULD MEAN A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS IN THAT AREA. AM I CORRECT? THAT’S 100% CORRECT. AND, YOU KNOW, I REALLY DON’T BLAME THE PRINCESS OF WALES AND HER FAMILY FOR, UH, LEAVING IT AS SOMEWHAT OF AN AMBIGUOUS, UM, UH, TERME. UM, IT REALLY COULD MEAN A CANCER ANYWHERE IN THE GI TRACT, WHICH COULD BE THE ESOPHAGUS DOWN TO THE STOMACH, THE COLON, THE RECTUM, THE PANCREAS. THE LIST REALLY GOES ON. OFTEN WE’LL DRAW AN ANATOMIC DISTINCTION WITH THE PELVIC ORGANS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I REALLY THINK THAT WE DON’T KNOW AT THIS POINT, BUT I THINK FOR GOOD REASON, SHE REALLY CLEARLY IS GOING THROUGH A TOUGH TIME. AND HER FAMILY AND I, I APPLAUD THEIR, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, BUILDING IN SOME PRIVACY TO THIS DOCTOR. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DOCTOR. MATTHEW STRICKLAND, A MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST AT MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL. EXCELLENT INFORMATION. WE REALLY APPRECIATED YOUR