Sarah Ferguson Talks About Feeling Paranoid, Importance Of Family Amid Cancer Battle

Sarah Ferguson is thankful for the support of her family, especially her children Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as she continues to battle breast cancer. She also shared how her grandchildren have helped her heal following her single mastectomy.

The Duchess of York shared how the princesses have been supportive since her cancer diagnosis in June and her subsequent surgery. She told People: "My two wonderful daughters are my wholehearted cheerleaders, my devoted champions and my soulmates, and they have been as supportive as can be, as they always are."

She is also thankful for her grandchildren, whose laughter helps with her healing. Fergie, as she is famously known, is a grandmother to two-year-old August and five-month-old Ernest, who are Princess Eugenie's children with husband Jack Brooksbank. She is also grandmother to two-year-old Sienna, Princess Beatrice's daughter with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and to Christopher Woolf, his son with ex-girlfriend Dara Huang.

"My grandchildren have also been spectacular healers. Joy and laughter can be powerful tools when it comes to healing," Ferguson shared.

The Duchess of York is thankful that her cancer was diagnosed early and said the early detection was critical in saving her life.

She explained: "It [is] easy to forget to prioritise our health and proactive care. Had my dear sister not urged me to keep the appointment I almost cancelled, I might not have caught my cancer early enough to be able to treat it as effectively."

The duchess announced her cancer diagnosis in June following a routine mammogram screening, which her sister urged her to take. She shared further details about her cancer ordeal during an appearance on "Loose Women" last week in which she admitted to struggling with paranoia over the thought of the cancer cells having spread through other parts of her body.

The 54-year-old shared: "And then of course you start four in the morning syndrome. You know that moment when you suddenly wake up and go 'oh I'm sure I've got cancer somewhere else... I'm gonna go and ring my doctor.'"

She added: "I'm getting over that but it's only been a few months since I've had the operation, so I'm just beginning to sit up straight."

Fergie also shared her gratitude that her cancer was caught early: "I caught it so early, just in time. The real thing is, it's that terrible fear of 'oh no, it won't happen to me'... and that's why I want to shout about it. I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't have gone."

Ferguson said she had no symptoms but when she went to do the mammogram, the results showed "a shadow, it was like a splat" that was not there "eighteen months before". She shared that she will "never forget" her drive from the hospital.

"Your mind goes into, 'oh my God I've got to have a mastectomy, and you look it up and it's all so terrifying and this is what's going to happen and then I'm not going to see my grandchildren grow up'. That's what goes through your head... it's that feeling of demise," she shared.

In a lighthearted moment, Fergie joked about how the reconstructive surgery she had after her single mastectomy gave her a waistline. The process removed her fat to recreate a breast which she thought was great.

Since then, she has named her breasts Eric and Derek. She joked: "The thing is about Derek, he's very perky and fabulous and Eric is sort of down."

Ferguson had her single mastectomy at King Edward VII's Hospital in London and has since been recuperating at home at Royal Lodge, Windsor, where she lives with her ex-husband Prince Andrew. It is unclear at what stage her cancer was when she was diagnosed.