Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has been diagnosed with a malignant skin cancer that was discovered while she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
The doctors found melanoma, a serious type of cancer, after they removed some moles during her reconstructive surgery following a single mastectomy.
“Clearly, another diagnosis so soon after treatment for breast cancer has been distressing but the Duchess remains in good spirits,” a spokesperson for the Duchess told The Associated Press.
Doctors are still analyzing the results of the melanoma and other tests to determine how far the cancer has progressed.
“She is undergoing further investigations to ensure that this has been caught in the early stages,” Sky News quoted her spokesperson as saying.
Ferguson, known as Fergie, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
She shared her diagnosis in a prerecorded episode of her podcast Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah. The podcast was taped the day before her single mastectomy.
“I want every single person that is listening to this podcast to go and get checked,” she said on the episode, which aired last June.
“I’m taking this as a real gift to me to change my life, to nurture myself,” said added, saying it was time to start “taking myself seriously” and “stop trying to fix everyone else.”
“Now is my chance,” she said. “This extraordinary position I’m in right now — it means there’s no choice.”
Ferguson, 64, who was previously married to Prince Andrew, shared that is was at her sister’s urging that she went for a mammogram. Her father died of prostate cancer at the age of 50 and she has long been an advocate for cancer research.
The Duchess posted to Instagram on Monday that her skin cancer diagnosis “has been a shock” but said that she’s “in good spirits and grateful for the many messages of love and support.”
Melanoma is considered the most serious form of skin cancer because it can quickly spread to other parts of the body and result in a terminal diagnosis. It develops in melanin cells, those that give skin its colour, hence its name.
Melanoma often develops from an existing mole or can start as a new, molelike growth.
“The Duchess wants to thank the entire medical team which has supported her, particularly her dermatologist whose vigilance ensured the illness was detected when it was,” her spokesperson said.
“She believes her experience underlines the importance of checking the size, shape, color and texture and emergence of new moles that can be a sign of melanoma,” he added.
Her new diagnosis was reported as King Charles, 75, prepares for a “corrective procedure” for an enlarged prostate this week.
On Wednesday royal officials also announced that Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales and wife of Prince William, had undergone successful planned abdominal surgery and will be in hospital for up to two weeks.
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