Sarah Ferguson Got Candid About Her Mental Health Amid Cancer Diagnoses

Sarah Ferguson is getting candid about her back-to-back battles with cancer. In a new interview with The Times published on Friday, January 17, the Duchess of York opened up about getting diagnosed with cancer twice in the same year and how the negative news affected her outlook.

“It was hard,” Ferguson said. “I’m generally a positive person but cancer is like a bomb going off in your life. One diagnosis is enough to deal with, but I had two in the space of a year. I don’t mind admitting that my mind went to some dark places, reflecting on my own mortality.”

Back in June 2023, Ferguson announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, and just six months later, she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer, after several moles were removed during her reconstructive surgery. 

And while she can joke about it today, renaming her reconstructive breast “Derek,” the multiple diagnoses had a major impact on her mental health at the time. Revealing how she coped during such a difficult time, Ferguson explained: “I’ve used meditation and mindfulness to help stay positive and balanced,” adding that her family has also been “an immense support to me through this period.”

Ferguson shares daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with her ex-husband Prince Andrew and has three grandchildren—Sienna, August, and Ernest. She will soon become a grandmother again after Beatrice welcomes her second child with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. 

In May, Beatrice praised her mom’s ability to bounce back amid her cancer recovery during an appearance on U.K’s This Morning. “She’s such a phenomenal icon. As a mum, she’s been amazing, she’s been through so much and her sense of purpose and resilience really keeps me going,” she said. “At 64 she’s thriving; she’s been through so much, but I think really now she’s coming into her own.”