Sarah Ferguson Says Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie Know She'll 'Tell It to Them Straight' About Cancer

"I have always brought up my girls to be so honest and frank," Fergie said in a new interview

• Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, spoke to Hello! about how she has discussed her cancer diagnoses with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie

• Fergie said that her daughters know "I'm going to tell it to them straight, however difficult it is"

• The Duchess of York had a mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis in June 2023 and announced in January that a mole removed during surgery was cancerous

Sarah Ferguson has been transparent about her health with her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, after being diagnosed with cancer.

The Duchess of York, 64, navigated two cancer diagnoses in the last year and spoke to Hello! magazine about being open with her daughters, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.

"I have always brought up my girls to be so honest and frank that they know I’m going to tell it to them straight, however difficult it is," the Duchess of York, popularly known as Fergie, told Hello! magazine. "So when they said, 'Mummy, tell us the absolute truth — have they got all the cancer out?' and the answer was yes, they knew they were safe."

"I have the most exceptional family and I have an extraordinarily great team and I have an enormous ability to turn to joy," she said in the interview, published on June 2.

Fergie and Andrew are grandparents to Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's daughter Sienna, 2 (as well as his son Christopher Woolf, 8, from a previous relationship) as well as Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank's sons August, 3, and Ernest, who turned 1 last week.

Related: Princess Beatrice Shares Upbeat Update on Mom Sarah Ferguson's Health Following Cancer Diagnoses

In June 2023, a spokesperson for the Duchess of York announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a successful single mastectomy. Fergie kept fans looped on her recovery on social media and advocated for the importance of early cancer detection through screenings.

In January, she shared that she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, following a post-operative analysis of a mole removed during reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy. A source told PEOPLE in March that the Duchess of York was "very relieved" to learn that her skin cancer had not spread.

While the Duchess of York's doctors have guided her not to use the phrase "cancer-free" and she continues with regular check-ups, "the outlook is positive," Hello! reported.

Related: Sarah Ferguson Speaks Out About Kate Middleton's Cancer News amid Her Own Diagnosis

On what her routine looks like now, Fergie told the outlet, "I have to be checked regularly, and I have to put cream on my face to get out past sun damage, which means big blisters on my face, chest and hands for three weeks. But I'm not doing immunotherapy, taking any drugs or doing chemotherapy, for which I'm very grateful."

The author and advocate added that her health scares served as a wake-up call to reframe her priorities in life.

"It gave me a swift kick in the butt and told me, 'Right, are you going to start living now, at 64, or are you going to keep on not quite living?' You don't have to be what everyone wants you to be: just be yourself," she explained. "One of the only people who saw me properly was the Queen [Elizabeth] and before she died, she said: 'Sarah, being yourself is enough,' " Fergie said of the advice from her late mother-in-law, who died in September 2022.

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At the start of the year, Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, were there for their mother amid her skin cancer diagnosis. A friend told PEOPLE that her "family is rallying 'round," especially her two daughters.

"They've been terrific since the summer," the friend said.

Fergie spoke to Hello! around the June 6 release of her paperback book A Woman of Intrigue, which was published in hardback in March 2023 under the title A Most Intriguing Lady. In late May, she opened up to PEOPLE about family togetherness when asked if she's been able to offer support to King Charles and Kate Middleton amid their cancer diagnoses.

"I think family unity is key…I think the key to life is that we all support each other," the Duchess of York told PEOPLE on May 23 at the 2024 amfAR Gala, held each year during the Cannes Film Festival.

The King, 75, resumed public-facing duties in late April after Buckingham Palace announced that he was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment in February. The Princess of Wales, 42, has maintained a low profile since announcing in March that she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. However, sources recently told PEOPLE that Princess Kate has recently been spotted out with her family and solo running errands.

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