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What is ‘preventative chemotherapy’ and what are the side effects? By Dr Harold Gunatillake Princess Kate was told she had cancer after undergoing abdominal surgery nine weeks ago at the private London Clinic. Princess Kate revealed the news in a video message, saying the diagnosis was a “huge shock”. Source: Getty / Chris Jackson While the exact situation is difficult to determine because the 42-year-old princess did not disclose the nature of the cancer, here is an explanation of preventative chemo. What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy is the use of powerful drugs to stop cancerous cells from growing, dividing and creating more cells. There are a large number of kinds of chemotherapy, depending on the cancer, how far it has spread and the treatment regime. Because these treatments cannot distinguish between different cells, they end up killing some cells that do good, such as white blood cells, causing some side effects. Why preventative? Preventative chemotherapy ...