Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, wife of Crown Prince Haakon, suffers from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). He talks about his illness with a sincerity unusual for members of the royal family. – I can’t immediately think that everything will work out. It depends on how I feel, she said in August, celebrating her 50th birthday. Last week, Duchess Kate announced her illness. The wife of the heir to the British throne was diagnosed with cancer.
Princess Mette-Marit of Norway was diagnosed in 2018. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a rare disease with a poor prognosis and is characterized by the progressive formation of scar tissue in the lungs. The wife of Crown Prince Haakon has always been open about her health condition and its consequences in the future when her husband ascends the throne and she becomes queen consort. Such honesty is rare among royals. Last week, Duchess Kate announced her illness. The wife of the heir to the British throne was diagnosed with cancer, which she decided to inform the public about in a statement published by Kensington Palace on social media.
SEE ALSO: Why did Duchess Kate decide to talk about the disease now? What is known about the diagnosis?
“There are many difficult and painful things about this disease.”
The 50-year-old duchess’s illness sometimes limits her ability to work and causes her to shorten or cancel some of her public appearances. Symptoms include fatigue, muscle and joint pain, progressive shortness of breath and cough. – I can’t just think that everything will work out. It depends on how I feel, she said in an interview with Norwegian public television NRK.
She also talked about what the life of a person suffering from a chronic disease is like. – There are many difficult and painful things about this disease, but at the same time there is something beautiful because you find yourself. It’s an opportunity to live a little slower and discover what things give you energy and what things take it away.
In her speeches, the duchess tries to draw attention to the situation of people struggling with chronic diseases. – For people who live with something that cannot be seen, like in my case, it can be difficult. Because when others don’t see it, it’s harder for them to understand it. I have learned to respect those who are in this situation, see the positive side and discover what I can do within my limitations.
SEE ALSO: They were waiting for “proof of life” from Duchess Kate
Duchess Mette-Marit – who is she?
The duchess has been a member of the Norwegian royal family for twenty-two years. She married Prince Haakon on August 25, 2001, and in Norway their wedding had both supporters and opponents. The couple met in 1999, when Mette-Marit already had a son, Marius Borg, now 26, whose father was in prison for drug trafficking. For a time, she and the prince lived without marriage, which is common in Norway but not considered appropriate in royal circles. Before becoming a duchess, she lamented her “turbulent past”. The royal couple have two children together: Crown Princess Ingrid Alejandra (19) and Prince Sverre Magnus (17).
The relationship between the wife of the heir to the throne and her parents-in-law, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, is very good. – I have the utmost respect for monarchs and the work they do for our country, as well as for the space they give each other in their roles, said the duchess. – I certainly wish I had my mother-in-law’s organizational skills, but I haven’t been able to achieve that in 22 years. I think we can still hope, she joked in an interview with NRK. Her commitment as a duchess comes in part from her past experiences. She focused on mental health, youth and the promotion of reading, and helped create an international support network for girls and women in difficult life situations. The initiative is called Maverick Collective and is co-chaired by Melinda Gates, an American philanthropist and ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
SEE ALSO: The sick king of Norway returned to the country on a special plane. In the background there is controversy over the costs of return
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis – what kind of disease is it?
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was one of the topics of the conference “Interstitial lung diseases with fibrosis – current problems, new possibilities”, which was organized in the Senate of the Republic of Poland in September 2023 as part of the World Pulmonary Fibrosis Month. Prof. Wojciech Piotrowski, head of the Clinical Department of Pneumonology at the University Clinical Hospital No. 1, head of the Pneumonology Clinic of the Medical University of Lodz, informed then that there are approximately 6,000 people in Poland. patients with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. About 2,000 new cases are diagnosed. annually. As he explained, interstitial lung diseases include over 200 disease entities. The most common form of interstitial fibrosis is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
As we read on the website senat.gov.pl, it is a rare, progressive and ultimately fatal lung disease that attacks the lung parenchyma and alveoli, causing their fibrosis. The lungs undergo scarring (fibrosis), which significantly reduces their capacity and the ability to exchange gases, i.e. the passage of oxygen into the body and the excretion of carbon dioxide. Progressive shortness of breath and cough appear, becoming much more severe over time, leading to expiratory failure and pulmonary hypertension. Fibrous changes are irreversible, and their late diagnosis often leads to a significant reduction in the quality of life and premature death of the patient. The only effective treatment so far is lung transplantation.
A large proportion of patients are treated with one of two currently available antifibrotic drugs – pirfenidone or nintedanib, which slow down the rate of disease progression, but do not eliminate it. However, it is possible to reduce the severity of symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients if the disease is correctly diagnosed shortly after the first symptoms.
Main photo credit: Fredrik Varfjell / Ritzau Scanpix Norway / Forum