Sarah, Duchess of York, has revealed she has had a single mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and urged listeners of her podcast to go for screening.
The 63-year-old discovered she had an early form of the disease during a routine mammogram.
Speaking on an episode of her podcast which was recorded the day before her operation, she said she is taking her diagnosis as “a real gift to me to change my life”.
I'm going to go out there and get super fit, super well, super strong— Sarah, Duchess of York
She reportedly left the King Edward VII Hospital in Marylebone, central London – which has treated the royal family for decades – on Sunday, and is said to be recovering with her family at Windsor.
In the episode of her Tea Talks podcast, released on Monday, Sarah said she was having a single mastectomy, adding that it is “very important” that she speaks about it.
“I am telling people out there because I want every single person that is listening to this podcast to go and get checked, go and get screened, go do it,” she said.
She added: “I’m taking this as a real gift to me to change my life, to nurture myself.”
Sarah said she will “stop trying to fix everyone else” and start “taking myself seriously”.
She said she is aiming to get “super fit, super strong” and spoke about her love of play and a “sense of adventure with nature”.
She said: “Now is my chance, and this extraordinary position I’m in right now, it means there’s no choice.
“I can’t make another excuse. I have to go through this operation and I have to be well and strong.
“And therefore no choice is the best choice.”
She suggested she will be going to Austria where there are “extraordinary mountains to climb”, or Scotland or Wales.
“I’m going to go out there and get super fit, super well, super strong,” she said.
She added it is “vital that we need to wake everybody up to screen” not just for breast cancer, but all checks.
A spokesman for the duchess said on Sunday: “Sarah, Duchess of York was recently diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer detected at a routine mammogram screening.
“She was advised she needed to undergo surgery, which has taken place successfully.
“The duchess is receiving the best medical care and her doctors have told her that the prognosis is good. She is now recuperating with her family.
“The duchess wants to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her in recent days.
“She is also hugely thankful to the staff involved in the mammogram which identified her illness, which was otherwise symptom-free, and believes her experience underlines the importance of regular screening.”
The Sun reported that the Duke of York, 63, and the couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 33, are by Sarah’s side as she recovers.
The grandmother-of-three, who is a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust and spoke at a Breast Cancer Foundation gala in 2019, was not at Royal Ascot last week.
Later on Monday, Sarah posted a message on Instagram saying: “Thank you so much for such kindness and support.”
