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» Charles and Fergie’s support for each other » They swap letters as health battles continue
the King and Sarah Ferguson are supporting each other as they both battle cancer.
The pair have exchanged letters and Fergie, who had a breast removed, and who has now been diagnosed with skin cancer, urged Charles to “keep fighting on”.
A source said: “They have bonded over their diagnoses.”
The 75-year-old King first reached out to Fergie, 64, after it was revealed she had breast cancer last July.
He wrote to her again when she was dealt another blow as doctors told her after Christmas she had a malignant melanoma.
The source said: “The King and Sarah are incredibly fond of one another and have bonded over their respective cancer diagnoses with an exchange of letters.
“Cancer is a wicked disease that affects so many individuals and their families and it’s clear that extra support from loved ones can help immeasurably.”
At a fundraiser for the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope in Florida, on Wednesday, Fergie paid tribute to the King.
She said: “I want to thank you all for your kindness in supporting my family members who are going through a hard time, and we wish everyone well, every family that has been diagnosed or who is going through a difficult time.
“And of course, my brother-inlaw, we wish you well, keep fighting on.”
The King has started weekly treatment in London for his cancer. He is said to be “wholly positive” of his prognosis.
It was spotted while he was in hospital for treatment on his enlarged prostate last month.
Charles is recuperating at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk in between trips to the capital. On Thursday, Queen Camilla said he was “doing extremely well under the circumstances”.
The King’s diagnosis has sparked a 51 per cent increase in searches on an NHS webpage offering advice on possible signs of cancer.
Fergie had an eight-hour operation to remove a breast after doctors discovered the disease during a routine mammogram.
Her dermatologist later asked that several moles were removed and analysed.
One turned out to be a malignant melanoma, the most serious
the king and sarah are fond of one another and have bonded over their diagnoses source tells how charles and fergie are supporting each other
form of skin cancer. The Duchess last week told how she had been supported by her daughters, Princesses Beatrice, 35, and 34-year-old Eugenie.
She said: “We call each other ‘The Tripod’ because we prop each other up, come what may.”
Fergie, who lives with disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew despite being divorced for nearly 30 years, is to back an awareness campaign on checking moles. Her dad, Major Ronald Ferguson, had the disease before his 2003 fatal heart attack.
Buckingham Palace and a spokesman for the Duchess of York did not comment last night.