Sarah, Duchess of York, undergoes mastectomy after breast cancer diagnosis
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Sarah, the Duchess of York, has undergone a successful surgery to treat breast cancer, which was found during a routine mammogram screening.
In a prerecorded interview on her podcast, "Tea Talks With the Duchess and Sarah," the 63-year-old duchess - known affectionately to royal watchers as "Fergie" for her surname, Ferguson - urged listeners to get screened.
"Tomorrow I'm going in for a mastectomy," she said in the interview recorded the day before her surgery. "I want every single person who is listening to this podcast to go get checked, go get screened, and go do it."
Despite her initial reluctance to get checked, Ferguson said her preparation for the surgery has changed her outlook on life.
"I'm taking this as a real gift to … change my life," she said. "I'm going to get super fit, super strong … and look at it straight on."
After her operation, she showed a good prognosis and was released from the hospital this past weekend to recuperate with her family, James Chapman, a spokesman for the duchess, said in a statement.
She underwent the procedure at King Edward VII's Hospital, a private clinic in central London that has regularly treated senior royals, including the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The duchess, a patron of Teenage Cancer Trust, was largely "symptom free" before the diagnosis and "believes her experience underlines the importance of regular screening," Chapman said.
Sarah divorced Prince Andrew - the younger brother of King Charles III - in 1996, after a 10-year marriage, and has been a favorite target of Britain's tabloids. The couple have two daughters, 34-year-old Princess Beatrice and 33-year-old Princess Eugenie, and three grandchildren. (They are also the caretakers of Queen Elizabeth II's famous corgis.) After the split, she launched a career as an author, penning more than 20 books, including two best-selling memoirs.
As a regular TV show guest and now a podcast host, she is described as relaxed and approachable and often shares her self-deprecating take on life, including the disappointments over not being invited to the Coronation and other royal events. She was close friends with Princess Diana, and in a recent episode on her podcast, she talked about their relationship, their loneliness and their shared sense of being outcasts.
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