‘Resilient’ Fergie will bounce back from her cancer, friends insist
SARAH Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is determined to ‘bounce back’ from her skin cancer diagnosis as she thanked wellwishers for their love and support.
Sarah’s latest health setback was discovered over the New Year after she had a second bout of reconstructive surgery following her breast cancer scare.
But friends say she is the ‘most resilient’ person they know and is already planning to pick up her television career again soon to encourage others to get themselves checked out.
The 64-year-old posted a photograph on Instagram of herself taken on a recent trip to a wellness clinic in Austria as part of her recuperation, reassuring well-wishers she was in ‘good spirits’.
She is now back at Royal Lodge in Wind
‘Incredibly grateful to the medical teams’
sor, which she shares with her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.
Referring to her diagnosis of a malignant melanoma, she said: ‘It was thanks to the great vigilance of my dermatologist that the melanoma was detected when it was. Naturally another cancer diagnosis has been a shock, but I’m in good spirits and grateful for the many messages of love and support.’
She said her experience underlines the importance of checking moles regularly and urged anyone reading her post to be diligent. She added: ‘I am incredibly thankful to the medical teams that have supported me through both of these experiences with cancer and to the Mayrlife Clinic for taking gentle care of me in the past weeks. I am resting with family at home now, feeling blessed to have their love and support.’
Tucked away in the Austrian Alps, Mayrlife is a luxury health clinic popular with Hollywood stars and tycoons. They pay between €455 and €1,850 per night for a room, with even a basic health programme on top of that costing €2,450 per week.
The spa runs on the principles of Dr Frank Mayr, an Austrian physician who claimed the route to wellbeing comes from the gut. Guests eat vegetable soup and dry bread, chewing each mouthful 100 times to encourage proper digestion. Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Liz Hurley and Suki Waterhouse have all been guests. The duchess has been a regular visitor and it is little surprise she escaped to enjoy the Alpine air and rigorous health regime as part of her recuperation.
However, a friend told the Mail the duchess has been informed she would need ‘further investigations’ to make sure the cancer has been caught’, adding: ‘The doctors are hopeful they have got it early, but melanoma is aggressive and they need to double-check everything.’
The friend said of Sarah: ‘She’s very resilient and she does bounce back from things quite quickly, but two diagnoses of cancer in six months . . . is a lot for anyone to process.
‘That’s why she wanted to take herself off to Austria, to get her head around everything. She’s back home now.’
The friend praised ‘her girls’ – Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – and said they had been ‘fantastic over the past six months’.
Sarah was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer last year and had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, talking about her experiences to encourage other women to have regular checks.
She had more reconstructive surgery at the end of last year and her dermatologist asked for some of her moles to be checked at the same time, the Mail understands.
‘A lot for anyone to process’