Sarah Ferguson shares malignant melanoma diagnosis just months after breast cancer

Sarah Ferguson is being treated for skin cancer, just six months after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

The melanoma was discovered when several moles were removed while the Duchess of York, 64, was undergoing reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy, her representative told The Associated Press.

"Clearly, another diagnosis so soon after treatment for breast cancer has been distressing but the Duchess remains in good spirits," the statement said. Her doctors are determining if the malignancy was caught early.

USA TODAY has reached out to Ferguson's spokesperson for details.

The news broke less than a week after the royal family announced that Princess Kate had been hospitalized for unspecified abdominal surgery and that King Charles III was undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Ferguson, aka "Fergie," was married to Prince Andrew from 1986 to 1996 and they share two grown daughters: Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 33. The former senior working royal, who is the author of several children's books and a historical romance, was an obsession of the British tabloids for years before attention turned to Prince William and Prince Harry.

Last June, when Ferguson revealed her breast cancer diagnosis after a routine mammogram, she said her prognosis was good and she was symptom-free.

Ferguson has long advocated for cancer research. In 2022, the Duchess of York and her princess daughters virtually met cancer patients and nurses for the opening of the hematology ward at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Contributing: The Associated Press and Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY

Princess Kate:The wife of Prince William has been hospitalized for abdominal surgery, palace says