Sarah Ferguson Shares an Important Health Reminder Amid Her and Kate Middleton's Cancer Battles
Sarah Ferguson lors du festival de Venise le 7 septembre 2022. (Photo by Laurent KOFFEL/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The Duchess of York shared an important health reminder in recognition of World Health Day as she and the Princess of Wales battle cancer.
Sarah Ferguson, 64, imparted her message alongside a photo of herself that she shared with her Instagram followers on Sun., April 7. In the photo, the former wife of Prince Andrew smiled as she posed while wearing a striped blue-and-white button-down shirt, a navy jacket embellished with silver detailing and a full navy skirt.
To mark World Health Day, Ferguson urged her Instagram followers to “check in with yourself.”
“Check in on your state of mind and check in on your body,” she wrote. “Go to your routine health check. Take that walk. Read a book. Your body and mind are a priority. Make sure to show them love.”
The duchess’ words struck a chord in the wake of her back-to-back cancer diagnoses and Kate Middleton’s recent announcement that she, too, is battling cancer.
Ferguson first revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in June 2023. Her doctors detected the cancer when she went in for a routine mammogram, her spokesperson said at the time, and she soon thereafter went in for surgery. By the end of the year, the duchess had provided an update on Instagram saying that she “beat breast cancer” following a year marked by "ups and downs, trials, lessons, laughter, miracles and joy.”
Less than a month later, Ferguson’s spokesperson announced that the duchess had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a serious kind of skin cancer.
Days before Ferguson revealed her melanoma diagnosis, Middleton was admitted to a hospital to undergo what Kensington Palace described as a planned abdominal surgery. By late March, the princess explained in a video statement shared with the public that she had been diagnosed with cancer. Middleton has not revealed what type of cancer she is battling.
Ferguson praised the princess for the way she handled her cancer diagnosis announcement in a March 25 statement that the duchess shared on social media.
“As someone who has faced their own battles with cancer in recent months, I am full of admiration for the way she has spoken publicly about her diagnosis and know it will do a tremendous amount of good to raise awareness,” Ferguson said. She sent her “thoughts and prayers” to Middleton as the princess’ cancer treatment began.
Next: BBC Addresses Backlash Over Kate Middleton Coverage Amid Cancer News
