Duchess of York, Sarah, spoke with Sarah about her battles with cancer in an interview, and she also warned the government about neglecting young people who have been given the disease.
Fergie has admitted her mind went to “dark places” as a “bomb went off in her life” following a double cancer diagnosis. The Duchess of York was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and then skin cancer the next year.
Now she is using her experience to back a campaign warning the government against neglecting teenagers with cancer in its upcoming national health plans for the disease. The ex-wife of the Duke of York has signed an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling for faster diagnoses, better access to clinical trials and improved mental health support for young people with cancer.
Writing in The Times, Sarah added that her cancer diagnoses felt like a “bomb going off in my life”. She also said that while she received support, many young people were left “to struggle alone with the dark thoughts”.
The duchess now remarked that health policies that don’t consider teenagers who have the disease can have “devastating” and “tragic” effects.
She stated, “I have had two diagnoses. I believe it is crucial for me to find new ways to hear and experience cancer patients who receive less attention, aren’t heard, and are susceptible to being overlooked.
Teenagers and young adults with cancer are one group that is consistently overlooked when creating health plans and policies. The effects are potentially devastating.
On Wednesday, Fergie endorsed the #AndYoungPeople campaign from the Teenage Cancer Trust and wrote an open letter to Mr. Streeting asking that teenagers be taken into consideration for the national cancer plan for England. The Duchess, who has long been a supporter of the charity, wrote: “They find themselves in a system that isn’t designed for young people and continue to suffer enormous disadvantages. “
She also mentioned talking to teenagers who had been “fobbed” off by health professionals despite displaying a range of symptoms, and that the results can be tragic.
In February, the Department of Health and Social Care launched a request for evidence to inform a national cancer plan. The plan will improve cancer care by enhancing research, improving screening, and treating patients, as well as looking at ways to help prevent the disease, as it is anticipated later this year. Teenagers and young adults were “often overlooked,” according to Kate Collins, CEO of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
She continued, “The Government has a great opportunity right now to significantly improve the health of a generation, a change that will have a real impact on their commitment to tackling the biggest killers and creating a UK where everyone lives longer, healthier lives.”
Fergie underwent an operation in 2023 after she discovered she had an early form of breast cancer during a routine mammogram. Months later, she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer. It came at the same time King Charles and the Princess of Wales also received cancer diagnoses and underwent treatment.
Source: Mirror
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