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Breast Cancer, Duchess of York | 04/07/2009 9:35 am

Duchess of York Joins Other Celebrities in Breast Cancer Fight

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© Getty Images

The Duchess of York is back in the spotlight, only this time, it’s not over a messy divorce or how she used Weight Watchers to shed pounds.

Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of the British Queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has been using her celebrity status to help battle breast cancer. The 49-year-old mother of two joins other celebrities in support of the latest Fashion Targets Breast Cancer clothing line and its Million Model Catwalk. Her face, the Telegraph reports, has since been plastered across London.

The initiative hopes to raise 1 million pounds for the cause. Women can support the charity by buying the clothes, or walking the virtual catwalk on millionmodelcatwalk.com in an FTBC outfit of their choice, next to leading ladies like British TV personality June Sarpong, 31, Radio One DJ Sara Cox, 34, and Rolling Stone daughters Leah Wood and Jade Jagger.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, The Washington Post reports on how, thanks to advances in medical technology, a growing number of women are having preventative bilateral mastectomies to eliminate their chances of dying from the deadly disease. Even women who have no cancer yet are opting for preemptive action.

The discovery of the mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which increases the risk of breast cancer, is enough for some women to err on the side of caution. High-profile women like actress Christina Applegate and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL, are just two women who have had both breasts removed after cancer was found in just one, but both tested positive for the cancer gene. 

"The doctors said I had a 65 percent chance of a recurrence of cancer in the other breast," Wasserman Schultz told the Post. "Those odds were too high for me."

2 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Barbara B
I applaude Sarah for her charity work.  This is one topic that does not discriminate whether your a Republican or Democrat.  Healthcare to get screening for every single woman is essential.
By Barbara B on 04/07/2009 10:37 am
Beth Cornell
I join in that applause, Barbara. She has really stepped up when it comes to causes like this.
By Beth Cornell on 04/07/2009 10:51 am