The Duchess of York has urged people to get their breasts checked after it was confirmed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Sarah Ferguson, 63, opened up about how she was preparing to undergo a single mastectomy, a procedure to remove a breast in order to treat the cancer.
In the latest episode of her podcast with businesswoman Sarah Thomson, Tea Talks with the Duchess & Sarah, Ferguson revealed that she was scheduled for the surgery the day before they recorded.
Emphasising how important it was to her to speak about having cancer, she said she thought of her father, Ronald Ferguson, and his experience with cancer in the Nineties.
“Tomorrow, I am going for a mastectomy... a single mastectomy. It’s very important that I speak about it,” she said.
“What sprang to mind was my father, when everyone rang him and said, ‘Why, no one wants to hear from me – and I don’t mind if no one wants to hear from me, because I’m telling you that I am doing this,” she said.
“I am telling people out there because I want every single person that is listening to this podcast to go and get checked.”
On Sunday (25 June), a spokesperson for the duchess confirmed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer after having a routine mammogram screening.
Reflecting on her diagnosis in the podcast, Ferguson said she was initially “really worried” about whether or not she should talk about it.
“It wasn’t until we talked it through before this podcast that actually… hold on a minute, you’ve done so much work. You’ve now caught this cancer in time, I pray, and then right now, if I can talk about it publicly, then everybody, please, don’t wait,” she said.
Ferguson also praised the NHS staff at the Royal Free Hospital in London and said they did “amazing work” in catching her cancer.
“Had it not been for that extraordinary injection in you to contrast, and it shows the contrast and it shows where to go – if I hadn’t done that, it was only a shadow, they wouldn’t have found out that it needs to be immediately sorted,” she added.
Ferguson’s spokesperson said yesterday: “She was advised she needed to undergo surgery which has taken place successfully. The Duchess is receiving the best medical care and her doctors have told her that the prognosis is good. She is now recuperating with her family.”
He continued: “The Duchess wants to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her in recent days.
“She is also hugely thankful to the staff involved in the mammogram which identified her illness, which was otherwise symptom-free, and believes her experience underlines the importance of regular screening.”
Ferguson, who was married to the Duke of York from 1986 to 1992, and divorced in 1996, is reportedly recovering at Royal Lodge in Windsor, which she still shares with Prince Andrew.
For more than 30 years, she has worked with the Teenage Cancer Trust and frequently campaigns for breast cancer awareness.
In 2019, during the Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual gala, she said in an interview: “It’s that hidden, frightening thing, the word cancer, the big C. Then on top of that is the word ‘breast’, people just don’t use it.
“The secret for the Breast Cancer Foundation is to spread awareness and to say it’s OK. It’s not OK, of course it’s awful. But if you have got it or you worry, or you think you may, go and have it checked and we are here to support you.”
Ferguson’s father, Ronald Ferguson, had prostate cancer in 1996 and also had skin cancer. He died in 2003 at the age of 71 of a heart attack.
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