Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson is recovering from a mastectomy to treat breast cancer.
The ex-wife of Prince Andrew had a single mastectomy on Sunday at King Edward VII hospital – a private clinic the late Queen Elizabeth II and other royal family members use.
“She was advised she needed to undergo surgery which has taken place successfully,” a spokesperson told BBC, adding that the prognosis is good.
In a pre-taped episode of her podcast “Tea Talks” that aired Monday, the 63-year-old best-selling author opened up about the cancer diagnosis, sharing how she was given the news after a routine mammogram screening — after some prodding from her sister.
“It was after (the) bank holiday, and I live in this area... in the Windsor area … and it was a hot day and I didn’t feel like going to London. It’s easy to put it off... ‘I’ll do it next week,’ " she told co-host Sarah Thomas. “My sister, who’s wonderful, from Australia, I always normally do what she says because she gets so cranky. She said, ‘No — go. I need you to go. I need you to go.”
Fergie, as she is often called, referenced her father’s death from prostate cancer and used her platform to encourage others about early detection.
“I don’t mind if no one wants to hear from me because I’m telling you that I am doing this. I am telling people out there because I want every single person that is listening to this podcast to go get checked, go get screened and go do it,” she said.
Ferguson, who said she was “symptom-free” before the diagnosis added, “I’m taking this as a real gift to me to change my life, to nurture myself...”I can’t make another excuse. I have to go through this operation and I have to be well and strong.”
According to recent findings from the British Medical Journal, early detection has led to success in the majority of breast cancer cases.
———
