Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, thanked her followers in an Instagram post following her cancer diagnosis.
“Thank you so much for so much kindness and support,” she wrote over a photo of a pink flower.
Prince Andrew’s ex-wife revealed on Sunday that she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer during a routine mammogram. She opened up about the news on the fourth episode of her podcast, “Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sara,” which Ferguson co-hosts with her friend Sarah Thomson.
Thomson revealed at the start of the episode that he was pre-taped the day before the Duchess underwent a single mastectomy to treat cancer.
“(Ferguson) wanted to post this to get the message across that regular screening and self-checking is absolutely essential,” Thomson said.
According to a spokesperson for the Duchess, Ferguson is currently recovering with her family. The operation was successful and “the doctors told him the prognosis was good”.
“The Duchess would like to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her over the past few days,” the spokesperson said. “She is also extremely grateful to the staff involved in the mammography who identified her condition, which was otherwise symptomless, and believes her experience underscores the importance of regular screening.”
Ferguson also thanked the Royal Free Hospital on his podcast for their “incredible work” in detecting his cancer at an early stage, as well as the nurses, doctors and advisers for their support.
“It’s just a very strong unit to deal with huge fear,” she said. “But you are not alone.”
Ferguson shared that she has benefited from the insights of other people with cancer through her volunteer work with cancer charities.
“I’m so grateful to have spoken to so many people with cancer that I can glean some advice from them that can help me through this time,” she said. “I take this as a real gift to me, to change my life, to nourish myself, to stop trying to fix other people.”
Ferguson has repeatedly encouraged listeners to get screened for cancer.
“It’s very important that I talk about it,” she said. “I don’t mind if no one wants to hear from me. I tell people this because I want every person who listens to this podcast to go get checked out. Go get tested and go for it.
This article originally appeared on TODAY.com