“It’s not about being brave!” Sarah Ferguson ‘is taking it very easy’ and ‘doesn’t rush back’ to work after her breast cancer surgery, says royal expert

Sarah Ferguson is taking it ‘really easy’ and ‘doesn’t rush back’ to work after her breast cancer surgery, a royal expert has revealed.

The Duchess of York, 63, appears to be on her way to recovery after a successful mastectomy last month at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London.

Camilla Tominey – Associate Editor at The Telegraph – appeared on This Morning today and shared an update on her health.

Speaking to hosts Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle, the royal commentator explained: “I saw someone last week who knows her really well and I said ‘how is she?’

“It was a really big surgery for her breast cancer, and she talked about it, I believe on her podcast.

“She was in surgery for eight hours and you know she’s taking it really slow and she talks on this podcast about, you know, it’s not really about ‘beating something’ or being brave.

“It’s just about dealing with what you have to deal with, taking it one step at a time, not rushing back.”

Sarah has since been recuperating at home in Royal Lodge, Windsor, where she lives with her ex-husband.

Yesterday she, the Duchess of York, was photographed for the first time since her mastectomy as she drove through Windsor with Prince Andrew.

Sarah and Andrew were married from 1986 to 1996 and together share daughter Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

On her Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah podcast, which came out last week, she discussed the diagnosis.

She said, “I think it’s really really exciting to have this huge friend with me, who is now my friend, to that extent I feel like a shield, like I have a shield of protection, because it feels like it’s there sure to say, “We got this.”‘

At the time the episode was taped, she said she enjoyed watching Wimbledon and had received hundreds of letters from people who had shown her an “outpouring of kindness”.

Camilla Tominey – Associate Editor at The Telegraph – spoke on This Morning today and shared an update on her health

The Duchess also said she believes in “manifestation” and “the power of positive thinking,” adding: “I think there’s no question about it.”

Sarah’s cancer journey began two months ago when a routine pre-coronation test first discovered something was seriously wrong.

In early May, Sarah attended an appointment in London for a mammogram. Instead of getting everything safe, as expected, the technician explained that a “shadow” could be seen in the chest.

A source close to the Duchess told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Most people usually associate breast cancer with a lump, but that’s not always the case.

‘A nodule can be detected by the patient, but this was a ‘shadow’, which can go unnoticed because it is a larger spread of cancer cells that can be picked up by screening.

“In Sarah’s case, a biopsy was taken of the shaded tissue and a few days later the results came back to confirm the diagnosis: breast cancer.”

Given the size of the area, a lumpectomy was ruled out and Sarah was strongly advised to proceed with a single mastectomy, which would eradicate the shadow of cancer cells across the breast.

Sarah was said to be devastated but determined to go through with a mastectomy as soon as possible, telling friends she had “no choice” but to go through with the operation.

In early May, Sarah attended an appointment in London for a mammogram. Instead of getting everything safe, as expected, the technician explained that a “shadow” could be seen in the chest. Pictured in April

Christina Choy was the surgeon who performed the mastectomy.

When it was done, consultant plastic surgeon Stuart James, once hailed by Tatler magazine as one of the top breast doctors in the country, took over and performed breast reconstruction using the “DIEP flap” technique. Coincidentally, Mr. James is known to Prince William.

In 2013, the heir to the throne visited an operating room at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, where Mr James explained the procedure of breast reconstruction.

The special procedure is so complex that only highly skilled surgeons should attempt it.

It involves making an incision in the abdomen and taking fat from the stomach to form a new breast.

Experts say this can take more than six hours because it involves a microvascular surgery in which delicate 2mm blood vessels are cut and then joined together.

But the Duchess underwent a major eight-hour operation while surgeons battled breast cancer.

This month, The Mail on Sunday revealed the full extent of her exhausting ordeal, which included four days in intensive care at the private hospital where the Duchess was monitored 24 hours a day.

A friend of the Duchess, who is now back at home, said: ‘The operation took a very long time – eight hours – and there was more to it than people think. Today she wants to say that she is very grateful to those who saved her and that she feels very lucky to be alive.

“The Duchess would like to give a special thank you to the two incredible surgeons Christina Choy and Stuart James who performed the operation and the entire medical team who worked tirelessly to assist her.”

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, affecting more than two MILLION women each year

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year there are more than 55,000 new cases in the UK and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it affects 266,000 people and kills 40,000 each year. But what causes it and how can it be treated?

What is breast cancer?

It comes from a cancer cell that develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.

When the breast cancer has spread to surrounding tissue, it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with “carcinoma in situ,” where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.

Most cases develop in people over the age of 50, but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, although this is rare.

Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

The cancer cells are graded from low, which means slow growth, to high, which means fast growth. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after being treated first.

What Causes Breast Cancer?

A cancerous tumor starts with one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. Something is thought to damage or alter certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.

Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the risk, such as heredity.

What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?

The usual first symptom is a painless breast lump, although most are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.

The first place where breast cancer usually spreads is the lymph nodes in the armpit. When this happens, you get a swelling or lump in an armpit.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

• Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may perform tests such as a mammogram, a special X-ray of the breast tissue that can indicate the possibility of tumors.
• Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from an area of ​​the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.

If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess whether it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound of the liver or a chest x-ray.

How is breast cancer treated?

Treatment options that may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments is used.

• Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or removing the affected breast, depending on the size of the tumor.
• Radiotherapy: A treatment that uses high-energy beams of radiation aimed at cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells or prevents them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
• Chemotherapy: A treatment for cancer using anticancer drugs that kill cancer cells or prevent them from multiplying.
• Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the “female” hormone estrogen, which can stimulate cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments that lower the level of these hormones or prevent them from working are commonly used in people with breast cancer.

How successful is the treatment?

The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumor at an early stage can then give a good chance of a cure.

Routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 means that more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.

For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call the toll-free helpline on 0808 800 6000