Sarah Ferguson Has Been Diagnosed With Malignant Melanoma
In June, Sarah Ferguson revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer following a routine mammogram, later opening up about her treatment. And today, her spokesman has announced that she has been diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer, which was discovered during her breast cancer treatment.
"Following her diagnosis with an early form of breast cancer this summer, Sarah, Duchess of York has now been diagnosed with malignant melanoma," her spokesman told T&C this evening. “Her dermatologist asked that several moles were removed and analyed at the same time as the Duchess was undergoing reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy, and one of these has been identified as cancerous. She is undergoing further investigations to ensure that this has been caught in the early stages. Clearly, another diagnosis so soon after treatment for breast cancer has been distressing but the Duchess remains in good spirits."
The spokesman said that the Duchess wanted to encourage everyone to remember the importance of checking the size, shape, color, and texture and emergence of new moles. She is being treated by experts at the Royal Marsden Hospital and King Edward VII Hospital. She has been recuperating at MAYRLIFE clinic in Austria.
The announcement comes on the heels of Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace announcing last week that King Charles and Kate Middleton are both having medical treatment. The Princess of Wales is currently in the London Clinic recovering from major abdominal surgery and the King will be admitted to hospital for a procedure on a benign enlarged prostate this week.
While the Duchess of York stopped being a working royal after her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996, she continues to champion charities privately via her organization Sarah’s Trust. This includes the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. Her daughter Princess Beatrice is Patron of the British Skin Foundation, and has met scientists working to tackle the UK’s rising skin cancer numbers.
After her breast cancer diagnosis last summer, the Duchess of York spoke about it on her podcast Tea Talks. “I’m taking this as a real gift to me to change my life, to nurture myself,” she said…“I’m going to understand it, get super fit, super strong, really understand what it was that caused this to come as a shadow—it was a shadow. Look at it straight on.” She added about her work with cancer charities, “I’ve talked to so many sufferers with cancer that I can glean from them tips that will help me through this moment.”
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, but the Skin Cancer Foundation says that, “Melanoma is usually curable when detected and treated early.” Treatment depends on where the cancer is and if it has spread. The NHS says that surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, with radiotherapy and chemotherapy sometimes used.
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