Sarah Ferguson almost put off the doctor’s appointment where her breast cancer was detected.
The Duchess of York opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis during an episode of her podcast “Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah” released Sunday, just hours after she revealed she’d undergone a mastectomy.
Ferguson urged listeners of all healths and ages to get screened for cancer as she shared how the crucial appointment almost never happened.
“It was after a bank holiday, and I live in this area, in the Windsor area, and it was a hot day, and I didn’t feel like going to London,” she explained. “It’s easy to put it off, ‘I’ll do it next week.’”
It was a push from her “wonderful” sister Jane Ferguson Luedecke that made Fergie follow through, however.
“I always normally do what she says because she gets so cranky,” the ex-wife of Prince Andrew remembered. “She said, ‘No, go. I need you to go. I need you to go.’”
When she underwent the mammogram, her doctor noticed a small shadow, indicating cancerous cells.
“Had it not been for that extraordinary — they put an injection in you, contrast and it shows the contrast, and it shows them where to go — if I hadn’t had done that ... it was only a shadow,” Ferguson explained.
The Duchess was grateful her physician was able to detect the cancer early on, noting, “They wouldn’t have found out that it needs to be immediately sorted.”
Ferguson announced she had undergone a mastectomy on Sunday. In a statement to BBC News, a representative said, “She was advised she needed to undergo surgery, which has taken place successfully.”
The rep said the Duchess was expecting a smooth recovery after receiving “the best medical care” available.
On the podcast, Ferguson explained how her diagnosis has impacted her perspective, saying, “I’m taking this as a real gift to me to change my life, to nurture myself. To stop trying to fix everyone else.”