Sarah Ferguson has joined Coronation Street actress Sally Dyvenor at a cancer charity headquarters this morning to serve coffee and cupcakes, following her gut-wrenching admission that a mammogram saved her life.
The Duchess of York, 64, visited the Prevent Breast Cancer headquarters in Manchester today in a spiralling multicoloured blouse covered by a striking suede blue jacket.
With her ginger hair tucked neatly behind her ears, the former wife of Prince Andrew, known affectionately as ‘Fergie’, wore a blue evil eye bracelet on her left hand and a golden charm bracelet featuring a four-leaf clover on the other.
Earlier this year Sarah was diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer, just months after facing breast cancer.
It came amid a health crisis for the royal family, with King Charles, 75, being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in the February and the Princess of Wales, 42, also revealing her diagnosis the following month.
Sarah Ferguson (left) is greeted by Coronation actress Sally Dyvenor (right) to the Prevent Breast Cancer headquarters in Manchester
Both women are breast cancer survivors and pair and fronting a campaign to raise funds for a National Breast Imaging Academy at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester
‘It’s thanks to my mammogram that I’m here today,’ the Duchess of York said. ‘So I can’t overstate how important it is that women go for their routine appointments whenever they are called up,’ Sarah said at the event.
‘I know first-hand what it feels like to hear the words ‘breast cancer’ and learn that you are facing a life-changing diagnosis, course of treatment and recovery.
‘It’s the news everyone dreads but I consider myself one of the lucky ones, because my cancer was caught early at a routine mammogram which meant that my prognosis was good.’
Following her own cancer journey, Fergie has joined forces with the charity to help promote its work and fundraise £600,000 for a National Breast Imaging Academy.
Commenting on her new patronage, she said: ‘The National Breast Imaging Academy offers a solution: training new experts and increasing screening capacity to protect our national breast screening programme and save lives in the years ahead.’
The Duchess joins a host of fellow patrons including Coronation Street actress Sally Dyvenor.
This morning the pair poured cups of coffee for visitors at the Nightingale Clinic and handed out pink cupcakes.
Sally (left) and Fergie (right) pour coffee for visitors to the Nightingale Centre this morning
The pair have previously co-hosted Loose Women together
The Duchess of York hands a pink cupcake to a visitor as Sally Dyvenor watches on
Sarah will become a patron of the charity Prevent Breast Cancer following her own journey with cancer
Fergie was introduced to the charity by the soap actress, a fellow breast cancer survivor, with whom she co-hosted Loose Women.
Sally, 61, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 at the same time as her on-screen character Sally Metcalfe.
The actress, who is mother to Bridgerton star Phoebe Dyvenor, only checked herself for lumps after reading the scripts for the iconic soap.
Sally fainted when she was told she had breast cancer and didn’t initially believe the diagnosis as she thought the doctor was referring to her character in the TV soap.
The coincidence was marked further by the fact that Sally was diagnosed on the same day she filmed the scene where her character told her husband about the cancer.
Now she is a patron of Prevent Breast Cancer, fronting the campaign to improve resources for breast cancer screening.
The new National Breast Imaging Academy training centre, which is due to begin construction at Wythenshawe Hospital next month, will enable up to 13,000 more women across the North West to be screened for breast cancer annually, as well as training 50 new imaging specialists each year.
Sally, 61, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 at the same time as her on-screen character Sally Metcalfe
Fergie speaks with Lisa Thomas (centre) and Kate Schofield (right) during a visit to the Prevent Breast Cancer headquarters
The Duchess of York smiles and poses for a photo with the healthcare workers
Breast cancer affects almost 57,000 women a year in the UK, making it the most common cancer in the country.
Around a third of breast cancers are diagnosed through routine mammogram appointments and often these women have experienced no warning signs like lumps or breast changes.
Nikki Barraclough, chief executive of Prevent Breast Cancer, added: ‘I am thrilled to have The Duchess on board as patron of Prevent Breast Cancer.
Her own experiences mean that she knows as well as any of us the importance of our mission to create a future free from breast cancer, and I am sure that she will use her voice to help us reach more women around the world.’
Sarah still lives at The Royal Lodge in Windsor with her ex-husband Prince Andrew.
Last week the Duchess of York spoke of her delight after her eldest daughter Beatrice announced that she was pregnant with her second child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40.
Soon after Beatrice made the announcement on October 1, Sarah took to Instagram to share her congratulations.
Earlier this year Sarah Ferguson was diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer, just months after facing breast cancer
She credits the support from her daughters Princess Beatrice (left) and Eugenie (right) for helping her recover
In a personal address to her daughter, the Duchess wrote: ‘Darling Beatrice. Words can’t quite express the joy and excitement I feel as you and Edo prepare to welcome another precious addition to your beautiful family’
The late Queen’s granddaughter and property developer Edoardo already share daughter Sienna, three, and will welcome their next baby early in 2025.
The couple are also parents to Edoardo’s son and Beatrice’s stepson, eight-year-old Wolfie.
Celebrating the news, which was shared by Buckingham Palace, Sarah posted several photos of Beatrice and granddaughter Sienna to her social media account.
The first photo showed her and Beatrice, who was wearing a floral headband, crouching down with the princess’s daughter, who was dressed in a white flower-girl style dress.
‘A very proud GiGi/Mum today. Such an incredible blessing and an embrace to my heart,’ the duchess captioned her post.