Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, views her breast cancer as an "enormous friend" who offers her a "shield of protection".
The 63-year-old royal underwent a mastectomy last month after being diagnosed with the disease following a routine mammogram, and instead of feeling sorry for herself, the duchess views her battle as a "really exciting" time.
Speaking on her 'Tea Talks' podcast, she told co-host Sarah Thomson: "People are asking me about this breast cancer.
“I really feel this is really exciting, about having this enormous friend with me, who is now my friend, to such a degree I feel like a shield, like I’ve got a shield of protection, because it feels like it’s definitely there to say we got this.”
The duchess believes in "manifestation" and "the power of positive thought".
She added: "I think there's no question about it."
Sarah told her co-host she had been watching Wimbledon during her recovery and had written 500 thank you letters to people who had shown her an "outpouring of kindness."
Elsewhere on the episode, the 'Her Heart for a Compass' author - who has daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with ex-husband Prince Andrew - insisted she has no regrets about anything she has done in her life and said she was "deeply sorry" if she has offended anyone.
She said: "I've looked back and I learn. I move forward and I grow.'
"I am resilient and I've learned but I do not regret, and so that is why I'm deeply sorry if I caused terrible pain for millions of people, hundreds or thousands or whatever else I meant to have done.
"I am deeply sorry for that because that was purely unintentional, and ignorance at the time of making the wrong decision is ignorance."
And Sarah noted it is normal to "worry terribly about the ramifications of your actions."
But she added: "It’s just about being so incredibly authentic."