Sarah Ferguson urges fans to ‘check in with themselves’ as she shares heartfelt health message amid cancer battle

By Liam Last updated Apr 9, 2024

Sarah Ferguson has urged her followers to show ‘their body and mind love’ on World Health Day – as she undergoes skin cancer treatment.

On Sunday, the Duchess of York, 64, shared the message in a Instagram post accompanied by a sweet snap of himself posing in a Wolf & Badger blazer.

“I want to remind anyone who might be reading this to check in with yourself,” she warned fans in her caption.

‘Check in on your state of mind and check in on your body. Go for your routine health checkup. Take that trip. Read a book.

‘Your body and mind are a priority. Be sure to show them love.’

Sarah Ferguson has urged her followers to show ‘their body and mind love’ on World Health Day – as she undergoes skin cancer treatment. The picture after the Easter service in St. George’s Chapel last month

Awareness Day, which the World Health Organization promotes, is celebrated on 7 April every year.

Sarah’s encouraging message comes as the royal family has faced a round of health problems, with herself, King Charles III and the Princess of Wales all undergoing cancer treatment.

Last month, the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie said she is ‘full of admiration’ for Kate Middleton for revealing her diagnosis.

Taking to social media, Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, affectionately known as Fergie, paid tribute to the mother-of-three, saying ‘everyone is praying for her’.

In a heartfelt Instagram statement, the Duchess said: ‘All my thoughts and prayers are with the Princess of Wales as she begins her treatment.

‘I know she will be surrounded by the love of her family and everyone is praying for the best outcome.

‘As someone who has faced their own battles with cancer in recent months, I am full of admiration for the way she has spoken publicly about her diagnosis.’

Sarah herself was diagnosed with skin cancer just months after having a mastectomy for breast cancer.

The Duchess of York, 64, shared the message in an Instagram post accompanied by a cute snap of herself posing in a Wolf & Badger blazer

Sarah herself was diagnosed with skin cancer just months after having a mastectomy for breast cancer. Pictured with her daughters in November

Sarah’s encouraging message comes as the royal family has faced a round of health problems, with herself, King Charles III (right) and the Princess of Wales (left) all undergoing cancer treatment

Speaking about Kate’s decision to reveal her own diagnosis, the Duchess added: I know it will do a huge amount of good to raise awareness.’

She ended the message by saying: ‘I hope she will now have the time, space and privacy to heal.’

Fergie revealed her shock skin cancer diagnosis in January. The mother-of-two had a number of moles removed while undergoing breast reconstruction last year, one of which turned out to be malignant.

The Duchess was described as being in ‘good spirits’ after the ‘distressing’ news, which was brought to her just days after Christmas.

A melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body, mainly caused by exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun or sunbeds.

People with paler skin, a large number of moles and a family history of skin cancer tend to be more at risk of developing this.

Friends at the time said Fergie is the ‘most resilient’ person they know and was already planning to resume her TV career again soon to encourage others to get checked out.

A friend told the Mail the Duchess had been told she would need “further investigations” to ensure it has been caught in the early stages.

“Everyone hopes that’s the case and the doctors hope they’ve caught it early, but melanoma is aggressive and they have to double-check everything,” they said.

Fergie revealed her shock skin cancer diagnosis in January, just six months after battling breast cancer. Pictured at the Christmas Day service at Sandringham in December

They added of Sarah: “She’s very resilient and she bounces back from things quite quickly, but two diagnoses of cancer in six months, especially when she thought she’d just gotten over breast cancer, is a lot for anyone to deal with and deal with.

‘You hope you’ve beaten it and then you get something like this.

‘That’s why she wanted to take herself away from Austria for a few weeks to get her head around everything. She is home now and the family have been very supportive.’

They also praised ‘her girls’ – Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – who they said have been ‘amazing over the last six months’.

‘They have been really brilliant about her breast cancer diagnosis. And they’re already rallying around her,” they said.

The Duchess was described as being in ‘good spirits’ after the ‘distressing’ news, which was brought to her just days after Christmas. The photo talks about her battle with breast cancer on Loose Women in November

What is malignant melanoma?

Malignant melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that begins in melanocytes, cells found in the top layer of skin that produce melanin, which gives the skin its color.

Although it is less common than other types of skin cancer, it is more dangerous because of its ability to spread to other organs more quickly if not treated at an early stage.

Symptoms

A new mole or a change in an existing mole may be a sign of melanoma.

Melanomas can appear anywhere on your body, but they are more common in areas that are frequently exposed to the sun.

Some rarer types can affect the eyes, soles of the feet, palms or genitals.

Check your skin for unusual changes. Use a mirror or ask a partner or friend to check areas you can’t see.

In particular, look for:

Moles with uneven shape or edges
Moles with a mixture of colors
Large moles – melanomas often tend to be more than 6mm wide
Moles that change size, shape or color over time

Reasons

Ultraviolet (UV) light is the most common cause of melanoma. It comes from the sun and is used in deckchairs.

Melanoma is more common in older people, but younger people can get it too.

You are also more likely to get melanoma if you have:

Pale skin that burns easily in the sun
Red or blonde hair
Blue or green eyes
A large number of freckles or moles
Have been exposed to a lot of sun and you have had a lot of sunburn in the past
Used sunbeds a lot
A history of skin cancer in your family or you have had skin cancer before

If you have black or brown skin, you are less likely to get melanoma, but you can still get it.

Prevention

Staying safe in the sun is the best way to reduce your chance of getting skin cancer (both melanoma and non-melanoma).

Do the following:

Stay out of the sun during the hottest part of the day (11am to 3pm in the UK)
Keep your arms and legs covered and wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses that provide protection against ultraviolet (UV) rays
Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 and at least 4-star UVA protection – make sure to reapply regularly
Make sure babies and children are protected from the sun – their skin is much more sensitive than adult skin

Treatment

Melanoma skin cancer is often treatable. The treatment you get depends on where it is, whether it has spread and your general health.

Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma. Radiation therapy, medications, and chemotherapy are also sometimes used.

Surgery may involve removing the melanoma and an area of healthy skin around it, swollen lymph nodes if the cancer has spread to them, and other parts of the body if it has spread to them.

If a large section of skin needs to be removed, a skin graft may be needed, which can see relatives taken from another part of the body to cover the area where the melanoma was.

Radiotherpay is sometimes used to reduce the size of large melanomas and help control and relieve symptoms.

Targeted medicine and immunotherapy are used to treat melanomas that cannot be managed by surgery or that have spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Chemotherapy, which kills cancer cells, is sometimes used to treat advanced melanoma when it has spread to another part of the body. It doesn’t work as well as other treatments, but can be used if you are unable to get them.

How dangerous is it?

Generally for people with melanoma in England:

almost all people (almost 100%) will survive their melanoma for 1 year or more after they are diagnosed
about 90 out of every 100 people (about 90%) will survive their melanoma for 5 years or more after diagnosis
more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85%) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed

Sources: NHS, Skin Cancer Foundation and Cancer Research UK

Meanwhile, Sarah also enjoyed a trip to Samoa earlier this month and shared photos from the visit online.

Among the groups the royal met was the Poutasi Women’s Committee.

Some of the photos show Sarah wearing garlands around her neck as she embraces some of the local people she met.

And in a photo from another engagement, she is seen dressed in white.

Meanwhile, a series of photographs shared a day earlier by the Duchess show her wearing a flower behind her ear during an appearance at Brown Girl Woke in Samoa.