Fergie: I’m doing fine
Duchess aims ‘to beat’ cancer and ‘use her experience to help others’
BY RUSSELL MYERS Royal Editor
COURAGEOUS Sarah Ferguson was all smiles yesterday as she waved to royal fans who wished her well after her shock skin cancer diagnosis.
The Duchess of York visited her dermatologist at King Edward VII’s Hospital in Marylebone, Central London, as she recuperates from malignant melanoma.
Upbeat Fergie, wearing a navy blue blazer, black tights and loafers, told wellwishers enquiring about her health “I’m fine, thank you” before being driven off.
The 64-year-old broke the news of her diagnosis last week – just seven months after her breast cancer battle.
Doctors discovered the disease in a routine mammogram – which Prince Andrew’s ex-wife nearly missed – and in June she had an eight-hour operation to remove one of her breasts.
But grandmother Fergie has already vowed to turn “distress into a positive” when doctors told her she was suffering from the most serious form of skin cancer after biopsies were taken from moles last year.
This week, she posted her first message since her diagnosis, saying she was “incredibly thankful” to her medical team and was now resting at home with her family.
She added how she continues to be in “good spirits” despite the setback and was “grateful for the many messages of love and support”. A close friend said: “She is simply amazing, always looking for the positive in any situation and rarely thinking of herself.
“She is going to beat this disease, just like she faced down her breast cancer diagnosis, with bravery and good humour and working out a way she can use her experience to help others.”
The Duchess received news of her skin cancer shortly after Christmas, which she had spent with the royal family, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, at Sandringham in Norfolk.
Fergie has already revealed to friends that she will pledge her time and profile to spur thousands of others to get checked before it is too late and, in turn, honour her close friend who died from the disease.
Carolyn Cotterell, 43, who Fergie used to live with before her marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986, died from skin cancer in 1999.
The Duchess has tearfully discussed her friend with her family and vowed to do more to raise awareness of the disease, a source said.
Fergie’s father, Major Ronald Ferguson, 71, was also diagnosed with skin cancer just months before his death from a heart attack in March 2003.
She’s simply amazing, looking for positives & not thinking of herself
FRIEND OF FERGIE ON SARAH’S UPBEAT ATTITUDE