At the end of June, Sarah Ferguson underwent a mastectomy for stage II breast cancer. Since then, the Duchess has regularly opened up on her Tea Talks podcast about the progress of her recovery. This Thursday 3 August, Prince Andrew’s ex-wife revealed how she is trying to come to terms with her new breasts.
Sarah Ferguson will always be transparent. Without seeking to sugarcoat the truth about her breast cancer, the Duchess of York continues to raise awareness among listeners to her podcast, Tea Talks. On Thursday 3 August, the mother of Beatrice and Eugenie opened up about her feelings after her left breast mastectomy on 25 June, revealing how she was trying to come to terms with her breast reconstruction. “I’m just starting to come to terms with my new best friend, Derek,” she quipped in episode 9, before revealing. “To my left, he’s called Derek… and he’s very important because he saved my life,” the ex-wife of Prince Andrew enthused.
Her friend and co-host Sarah Thomson then asked the 63-year-old duchess why she had chosen the name. “I don’t know, it just made me laugh that I now have a friend who is with me all the time and protects me like a shield,” explained “Fergie”, who said she was now “much better” but wasn’t planning to travel for another month. “Poor Eric [her right breast] feels bad because he’s not as perky as Derek on the left, but I’ll balance Eric out, don’t worry”, she laughed, referring to her planned second mastectomy.
The cancers that took the lives of Sarah Ferguson’s loved ones
In Tea Talks, Sarah Ferguson now uses her fame to encourage women to go for regular screening, given that her diagnosis came after a routine mammogram, which she had almost missed. This battle against the disease has a special significance for the former sister-in-law of Charles III. Several members of her family have been affected by cancer in recent years. Starting with her father, Major Ronald Ferguson, who suffered from prostate cancer and skin cancer. His father-in-law, Hector Barrantes, was just 51 when he died. The latter, an Argentinian polo player, had undergone several operations to treat cancer of the lymph glands. Both deaths prompted the Duchess to become involved with leading cancer charities.
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