When Fergie told me she had breast cancer Sarah said it was just a little op, ... trends now
When my dear friend Sarah Ferguson found out that she had cancer, she broke the news in her typical, irrepressible style.
She tried to make light of it but, as her friend I was worried sick.
I first met Sarah in 1992 when I was a young TV interviewer known for getting the big prime-time interviews. I had dreaded the interview – what if it went wrong or she pulled out?
But Sarah was genuine, smart and lovely. She was there to raise money and awareness for charity and I came to learn over the years how caring and giving Sarah is as a person.
Now, three decades on, she was sharing some of the most devastating news a person could receive.
Sarah Ferguson was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine mammogram and has since undergone surgery
I first met Sarah in 1992 when I was a young TV interviewer known for getting the big prime-time interviews. Now, three decades on, she was sharing some of the most devastating news a person could receive
My mother died of breast cancer and I knew how difficult the road could be.
I was at my home in California on May 11 when Sarah first mentioned that something was wrong.
We had been texting back and forth when I told her I had been to the doctor's for a scheduled check-up.
My mind was full of questions – how could it be? I was sure it was in no small part due to the stress Sarah has endured from all the 'nonsense' as we often referred to it – that is to say supported her ex-husband Prince Andrew over being forced to quit his official Royal duties over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Now it is surely his turn to support her.
She told me she was happy that I was going to get a check-up. At first I thought it was typical Sarah, kindly looking out for one of her friends.
It was the middle of the night in Los Angeles - but her follow-up message caused me to jolt upright in my bed.
She told me she had to 'have a little op' the following week.
'I don't like it,' I messaged back in my bleary state.
Her reply was honest but characteristically upbeat – one of the qualities I have always so admired in the duchess.
She went on to explain that a small lump had been found in a breast during a routine mammogram and that it had been caught early.
Initially we had little cause for concern.
It went smoothly - and we hoped that it would prove to be a cancer scare, nothing more.
In the meantime, Sarah insisted that it would be business as usual.
She travelled to Bogata with her charity Sarah's Trust and attended a wedding in Venice, sending me a photo in a silky green dress on one of the famous gondolas. She was stunning, the picture of health.
Sarah kept travelling for her charity work and was thrilled to become a grandmother again – this time to her new grandson Ernest, Princess Eugenie's second son who was born on May 30.
Sarah Ferguson and Daphne Barak (far right) in Beverly Hills. From left to right:Antonia Marshall (Fergie's longtime assistant), David Ellender (Halcyon Studios), Fergie, Erbil Gunasti (Daphne's husband), Daphne Barak
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew attending day four of the Royal Ascot on June 21, 2019
He put a huge smile on her face.
But even so I sensed her mood had changed.
Worse was to come.
A biopsy of the lump confirmed that it was indeed cancer.
My heart stopped.
