Being Comfortable In Your Own Skin After a Cancer Diagnosis
- Sarah Ferguson, the 64-year-old Duchess of York and British author, named her reconstructed breast after undergoing single mastectomy, which is the removal of one breast, to treat early-stage breast cancer over the summer.
- Despite undergoing surgery and having to remove her left breast, Ferguson—once a member of the British royal family, who was previously married to Prince Andrew, the father of her two children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie—is feeling comfortable in her own skin, and we’re happy to see it.
- “Body image is both the mental picture that you have of your body and the way you feel about your body when you look in a mirror,” Dr. Marianna Strongin, a New York-based licensed clinical psychologist, tells SurvivorNet.
- “As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body,” Strongin suggests.
Ferguson—once a member of the British royal family, who was previously married to Prince Andrew, the father of her two children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie—opened up about her mastectomy in a recent interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain hosts Ed Balls and Susanna Reid, where the The Duchess of York said, “I’m sorry to be so quite bold, if I may say, but this is Derek.
Read More@goodmorningbritain ‘I feel like my mastectomy is a badge of office.’ Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York shares how her life has changed since having breast cancer. #sarahferguson #duchessofyork #susannareid #edballs #goodmorningbritain ♬ original sound – GoodMorningBritain – GoodMorningBritain
Speaking about whether or not she’s changed amid her breast cancer journey, Ferguson continued, “I’ve always believed in life and joy, and I’ve always brought my girls up to believe that, and really, really strong about it.
“And so this hasn’t given me that sort of moment, oh I’m so lucky, now I’m going to go and give. I’ve always been like this. However, it makes me be able to be myself. I sort of feel as though I’m myself talking to you.”
Describing the moment she decided to have her left breast removed, when she searched the procedure up on the internet, she explained, “Of course you look it up and you go on medical (websites) and it tells you all these different things and eventually I was so silent and I went right into my fears.”
It’s great to see Ferguson feeling so incredibly do confident after doing what she felt was right, and going through with the mastectomy despite having some fair, as now she’s feeling great and comfortable in her own skin.
Expert Resources On Breast Cancer
- Mammograms Are Still the Best Tool for Detecting Breast Cancer — A Warning About Thermography
- Breast Cancer: Introduction to Prevention & Screening
- The Mammogram Debate: Should Women Start Breast Cancer Screening at 30?
- Women Should Now Start Getting Mammograms at 40, Expert Panel Suggests: The Benefits and Potential Risks of Earlier Breast Cancer Screening
- U.S. Lawmakers Ask CDC to Address Decline in Breast Cancer Screenings, a Critical Step When it Comes to Catching the Disease Early. Don't Skip Them
- Beautiful and Badass – Survivor Explains Why She Got Mastectomy Tattoos
- Caitlin Kiernan Gets Intimate About Dating After a Mastectomy
Back in August, Ferguson also opened up on her podcast “said” about how she named her reconstructed breast “Derek.”
When questioned why she chose the name “Derek,” she explained, “I don’t know. It just made me laugh,” dubbed Derek her “new best friend” who she is still in the process of accepting, BBC reported.
In another episode, she said, “Now I have a friend, Derek, with me all the time who is protecting me with his shield of armor.”
Ferguson also spoke on another podcast episode about her cancer journey, calling it the “wake up” call she needed to rediscover herself.
“Not because of seeing death but waking up to stop worrying, stop self-hatred, stop self-doubt, stop all these things. Stop not liking yourself,” she said.
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Her breast cancer journey began earlier this summer after a routine mammogram discovered a shadow area that required further examination and ended up being breast cancer. She underwent a single mastectomy, which is the removal of one breast, to treat the cancer.
However, in the wake of the procedure, Ferguson discovered that her self-esteem had been restored following breast cancer treatment because for far too long, Ferguson said she often compared herself to the late Princess Diana. The Duchess of York had long internalized the comparison until the Queen told her to, “Just be herself.”
Ferguson also credits her sister for inspiring her to get the mammogram at just the right time as it “saved” her life.
Why Mammograms Are An Important Screening Tool
Breast cancer is usually detected through a mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer.
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
While there is some disagreement about the exact age a woman should start getting mammograms, there is a general agreement among doctors that it should happen in their 40s.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should start yearly mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
The ACS also advises:
- Women aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year
- Women aged 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year
- Women aged 55 and older could also choose to continue yearly mammograms
Just recently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) drafted new recommended guidelines that advise all women to start screening for breast cancer every other year at age 40, a significant change from 2016, when the group advised screening to take place between the ages of 50 to 74 years old.
When You’re Getting a Mammogram, Ask About Dense Breasts
In regard to screening for breast cancer, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer such as a BRCA gene mutation or a medical history including chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.
Understanding Ferguson’s Breast Cancer Treatment
The two main types of breast cancer surgery are a lumpectomy and mastectomy. A lumpectomy is where the surgeon only removes the cancerous area, along with a small margin of healthy tissue around it. During a mastectomy, all of the breast tissue is removed either in one breast (a single, or unilateral, mastectomy) or both breasts (a double, or bilateral, mastectomy).
WATCH: How to decide if a mastectomy or lumpectomy is the best treatment?
Ferguson received a single mastectomy.
“Mastectomy has very specific indications,” Dr. Sarah Cate, who is a breast surgeon at Mount Sinai Health System, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview. “So some of the things that would predicate a mastectomy are things like a large tumor size to breast ratio, or having cancer in more than one area of the breast, or things like a genetic mutation.”
“Traditionally, when a woman had breast cancer she [would need a] mastectomy, which was to have the breasts removed, but now for the past 40-50 years, we know instead you can do what is called a lumpectomy, where you go ahead and remove only the part of the breast that has the cancer,” Dr. Linda Moy, a radiologist at NYU Langone Health, previously told SurvivorNet.
Whether a patient undergoes a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy is a very personal decision that can be affected by factors like the size of the tumor, its genetic markers, and the patient’s family history.
Dr. Sarah Cate, a breast surgeon with Mount Sinai Health System, explained that “long-term survival with mastectomy is equivalent to that with lumpectomy and radiation.” Additionally, she says a mastectomy is “a much bigger surgery” with a “much longer recovery.”
People who need to undergo surgery for breast cancer should consider these factors and more before making concrete decisions about which procedure they will get.
WATCH: Understanding breast reconstruction.
After her single mastectomy, Ferguson underwent reconstructive surgery. The reconstruction process can happen at the time of the surgery to remove the breast, or later on in the case of implants. Some women opt for no reconstruction but decide later that they want reconstruction to restore a sense of self, or simply get back to the way they used to look.
“Vreast reconstruction is a restoration of a woman’s form and her sense of self,” says Dr. Andrea Pusic, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you are facing a breast cancer diagnosis and your surgery option includes a mastectomy, here are some questions you can ask your doctor.
- What’s the length of time it takes to complete the procedure and recovery?
- Will I face any long-term pain or discomfort after the procedure? If so, how to manage the pain?
- Will my nipple(s) be impacted, or can they be spared during the procedure?
- How will the potential of reconstructive surgery impact the length of recovery and any possible side effects?
- Will I be able to restart my normal activities while I’m still in recovery?
- Will insurance help cover any of the treatment costs?
Self-Acceptance After Cancer
Many survivors struggle with body image issues after undergoing cancer treatment. It’s important to know that you are not alone, there are resources (like mental health professionals or patient advocates) available if you need them, and many changes (like hair loss or changes to your skin) or only temporary.
Survivor Bianca Muniz, who was diagnosed with cancer for the first time when she was just 11 years old, said she really struggled initially with the changes cancer made to her body, especially since she is a singer and has always performed on stage.
Cancer Survivor Bianca Muniz On How She Learned To Feel Comfortable In Her Own Skin Again
“Once I started treatment, I started getting these really bad breakouts on my face, and then I would try to cover it up with makeup,” Muniz told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
“I tried all these different skin regimens to try to make it better, and I made it worse. And I’m a performer. I am on stage performing in front of people. So to have this so just in your face, everyone can see it, that was very hard for me to get over. It took a really long time for me to finally feel OK about it and accept that this is going to be there for a while.”
Ann Caruso, a celebrity stylist, also previously spoke with SurvivorNet about self-acceptance, an essential part of living with any type of health battle and cancer, regardless of how severe.
“Femininity is a state of mind,” Caruso told SurvivorNet. “Society has us thinking that our breasts are what makes us sexy. You know, there are so many other things. “There’s touch, there’s our eyes, a glance, the way we speak. It’s the curve of our body, it’s the way that we think. There are so many special things about being a woman.”
Celebrity Stylist Ann Caruso on Beauty and Femininity After Cancer
And it’s important you try to work on how you view your body because it can positively impact your emotional and physical well-being as a whole.
“Every day of our lives is really filled with uncertainty” but those facing a cancer diagnosis tend to feel that uncertainty at a more extreme level, Dr. William Breitbart, the chair of the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
Dr. Breitbart also said that learning to embrace that uncertainty is a part of living, not just for those fighting cancer, but for everyone.
Learn to Accept Yourself A Huge Part of Living With Cancer
“What the task becomes is having the courage to live in the face of uncertainty, realizing that you cannot necessarily control the uncertainty in life, like the suffering that occurs, challenges both good and bad,” Dr. Breitbart says.
“You may not be able to control those but you have control over how you choose to respond.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Marianna Strongin, a New York-based licensed clinical psychologist, also has some helpful advice. She encourages people that spending time in front of the mirror can help with body image.
Celebrity Stylist Ann Caruso on Beauty and Femininity After Cancer
Although “research has found that when looking in the mirror we are more likely to focus on the parts of our body we are dissatisfied with” which can cause “a negative self-view and lower self-esteem,” it’s important to look at the parts of your body that you love and the parts of your body that you don’t.
Eventually, Dr. Strongin says, doing so can help you create a more accepting relationship with yourself.
“Body image is both the mental picture that you have of your body and the way you feel about your body when you look in a mirror,” she said. “As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body.”
MORE: My Confidence Was Destroyed: Dealing With Body Image During Cancer Treatment
Whether you are living with cancer or some other type of illness, it’s important to know you’re not alone if you’re having a hard time with how you view your body after receiving a diagnosis or going through treatment.
Body Positive & Cancer
There has been a major movement in the last couple of years praising all shapes, colors, and sizes of women’s bodies. This is particularly important for cancer survivors as well, especially breast cancer survivors who have had one or both of their breasts removed.
SurvivorNetTV Presents “SN & You: Body Image Embracing Your Body”
Cancer can be brutal to the human body. Along with dealing with the physical side effects of chemotherapy and other treatments, there are also the emotional blows that women and men suffer from losing their hair, organs and other body parts, along with the scarring that comes with it.
Beauty can be found in all forms. No one is perfect, and we need to learn to be proud of our battle wounds. Especially after beating a disease that is trying to take us down.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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