While Sarah Ferguson has been recovering at home from her breast cancer surgery, friends of the duchess have revealed details of her recent procedure.
"The surgery took getting on for eight hours and was more involved than people think," a pal said of the operation that took place at King Edward VII's Hospital in Marylebone, Central London.
"Today, the message she wants to get out is that she's very grateful and she feels very lucky to be alive," the friend added. "She wants to thank the two incredible surgeons Christine Choy and Stuart James who saved her life and all the medical team who worked tirelessly to help her."
Another source close to Ferguson, a.k.a. Fergie, shared that her two daughters Princess Eugenie, 33, and Princess Beatrice, 34, have been helping their mother as she recuperates. They claimed Eugenie has "all but moved in" to her parent's home, Royal Lodge, while Beatrice has been "constantly on the phone."
A third source alleged that the mother-of-two, who was discharged from hospital last Sunday, June 25, was lucky the doctor caught her cancer early.
"Most people usually associate breast cancer with a lump but that's not always the case," they explained. "A lump can be detected by the patient, but this was a 'shadow,' which can go undetected as it's a wider spread of cancerous cells."
"In Sarah's case, a biopsy was taken from the shadowy area of tissue and a few days later the results came back to confirm the diagnosis — breast cancer," the insider continued.
As OK! previously reported, the former wife of Prince Andrew's rep recently released a statement about her health.
"Sarah, Duchess of York was recently diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer detected at a routine mammogram screening. She was advised she needed to undergo surgery, which has taken place successfully," the spokesperson said of the 63-year-old.
"The Duchess is receiving the best medical care and her doctors have told her that the prognosis is good. She is now recuperating with her family," they noted. "The Duchess wants to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her in recent days."
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"She is also hugely thankful to the staff involved in the mammogram which identified her illness, which was otherwise symptom free, and believes her experience underlines the importance of regular screening," the rep finished.
The Sun reported on the sources' comments.
