“The Duchess wants to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her in recent days,” a rep said.
One of the British royal family’s own has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has been undergoing treatment for the disease, a representative confirmed on Sunday to multiple news outlets.
But luckily, her condition was caught in the early stages after a routine mammogram screening, and she has already undergone surgery to treat the cancer at her doctor’s advice. “The duchess is receiving the best medical care, and her doctors have told her that the prognosis is good,” her spokesperson said in a statement. “She is now recuperating with her family.”
As the duchess recovers, here’s what we know so far about her prognosis and how she’s overcome her past health struggles.
What kind of breast cancer does Sarah Ferguson have?
The Duchess of York’s rep said that the cancer was detected during a routine mammogram, and that it was “an early form of breast cancer.” She was symptom-free at the time of her diagnosis, and her rep said she “believes her experience underlines the importance of regular screening.” In the U.S., about one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime — but, if caught early, the 5-year survival rate is 99 percent.
According to the BBC, Ferguson underwent surgery at King Edward VI hospital and returned to Windsor over the weekend. “The Duchess wants to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her in recent days,” the rep said.
Sarah Ferguson’s mental health struggles
At 63, Sarah Ferguson has been in the public eye for decades, which comes with a unique set of challenges. Her breast cancer diagnosis isn’t the first time the duchess has gotten candid about her struggles. In March of this year, she opened up about the mental health issues she’s experienced, confessing that she felt like she had “no self-worth” and would overcompensate by compulsively buying gifts for people in her life. Before that, in 2021, she got opened up about how the tabloids’ ruthless treatment of her — and in particular, her discussion of her weight — caused her trauma.
“It’s taken a great deal of work because I believed every word that the front pages told me,” she told PEOPLE. “It was self-shame. I’m stratospherically sensitive.”
Making things even tougher was how the Duchess was often compared to Princess Diana in the press, with Diana being praised while Ferguson was mocked and called things like “Duchess of Pork.” Of course, the tabloids were cruel to Diana as well.
“Diana and I both had our own mental health issues, and she and I used to talk,” Ferguson told PEOPLE. “She said, ‘Fergie, remember one thing: When you’re at the top of the pedestal, it’s so easy to fall off. And you’re at the bottom. You just climb up’… The most important thing was to remain robust together, and we did, no matter what anyone wrote.”
Despite the press trying to pit the two women against each other, Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson remained close friends. They even once got arrested (briefly) while on a bachelorette party — read the wild story for yourself.
