Duchess of York opens hi-tech breast cancer unit and calls for wider screening
The duchess met staff at the Chiltern Hospital in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, as she opened its newly revamped hi-tech unit.
Sarah, Duchess of York has warned “everybody needs to get screening” as she opened a cutting-edge breast cancer diagnostic unit.
The duchess, who had a mastectomy last year, met staff at the Chiltern Hospital in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, on Thursday to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
She urged women not to miss their mammograms and to seek help straight away if they feel something needs investigating, saying: “Everybody needs to get screening.
“And if you have any concerns, any concerns at all, don’t hesitate. I hope anyone who hasn’t gone to get checked will now go and get checked.”
The duchess, who celebrated her birthday this week, said in a speech to staff: “I was 65 on Tuesday and it’s thanks to dedicated medical teams like the one I’ve met today that I’m here, because it’s not just one person, it’s a team effort.
“When I was diagnosed my mind went to the darkest of places, and of course you go straight online and google mastectomy.”
“But it’s not like that because of the wonderful healthcare teams that are available, whether it’s the oncologists or imaging staff.”
The visit came as the duchess posted her first TikTok, in which she spoke about her breast cancer journey after the shock of her diagnosis.
In the clip on her new account, the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who was filmed sitting outdoors, said she felt “hollow” and “total abject fear” when she was first diagnosed, adding: “I just didn’t speak … I just shut down. I went back into a little girl.”
Sarah, patron of the Prevent Breast Cancer charity, was also treated for malignant melanoma skin cancer in January, just months after undergoing her mastectomy.
At the Circle Health Group’s private Chiltern Hospital, she opened and was shown around the £900,000 refurbished imaging department, which features a cutting-edge mammography unit providing breast tomosynthesis (3D), contrast enhanced mammography, new stereotactic and vacuum biopsy and breast density technology.
But the survival rate for patients diagnosed with breast cancer has doubled in the last 50 years, with earlier detection and faster diagnoses making the biggest difference.
