Sarah Ferguson has described being diagnosed with both skin and breast cancer in a short period of time as “hard” in a candid new interview.
Speaking with The Times, the 65-year-old said that despite the many struggles she had faced in her life, her recent health struggles were perhaps her most harrowing.
“I’m generally a positive person but cancer is like a bomb going off in your life. One diagnosis is enough to deal with, but I had two in the space of a year. I don’t mind admitting that my mind went to some dark places, reflecting on my own mortality.”
The Duchess of York added that her family had been “an immense support” throughout this period of her life.
“I’ve [also] used meditation and mindfulness to help stay positive and balanced.”
This isn’t the first time that Sarah has spoken publically about her mental health during this time, describing her dual cancer diagnosis as a “death sentence” in an October 2024 interview with The Sun.
“Your mind goes to the darkest places,” she told the publication at the time.
Sarah, better known as Fergie, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2023 and underwent a single mastectomy after a tumour was discovered during a routine mammogram.
In November 2023, Sarah made the harrowing revelation that she had almost missed the [mammogram] screening appointment that saved her life.
“I couldn’t face a journey into London on a hot day this summer and it was only my sister Jane’s insistence that I went, that persuaded [me].” she shared on a long-running British talk show, Loose Women.
She then added that her cancer was completely “symptom-free” and that without the mammogram, she never would have known she had cancer as she “never found a lump” and did not feel ill.
Just months later, in January 2024, she revealed she had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma and had surgery to remove it shortly after.
After undergoing additional surgery to explore the area around the mole and her lymph nodes, her doctors confirmed that her skin cancer had not spread.
“When you’re told you have cancer, you can’t help thinking it’s a death sentence,” she also shared with The Sun.
“One cancer diagnosis is bad enough but two in quick succession is a lot for anyone to handle.”
Her skin cancer diagnosis was first confirmed in a statement by her spokesperson to The Telegraph UK.
“Following her diagnosis with an early form of breast cancer this summer, Sarah, Duchess of York has now been diagnosed with malignant melanoma,” the statement read.
“Her dermatologist asked that several moles be removed and analysed at the same time as the duchess was undergoing reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy, and one of these has been identified as cancerous.”
The spokesperson also revealed that Sarah was “undergoing further investigations to ensure that this has been caught in the early stages.”
“The Duchess wants to thank the entire medical team that has supported her, particularly her dermatologist whose vigilance ensured the illness was detected when it was.
“She believes her experience underlines the importance of checking the size, shape, color and texture and emergence of new moles that can be a sign of melanoma.”
Shortly after her skin cancer diagnosis became public knowledge, Sarah took to her Instagram to share that she was in “good spirits.”
“I have been taking some time to myself as I have been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, my second cancer diagnosis within a year after I was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer and underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery,” she posted to Instagram.
“It was thanks to the great vigilance of my dermatologist that the melanoma was detected when it was.”
