Supermodel Elle Macpherson’s secret cancer battle revealed for first time as star says she refused chemotherapy
ELLE Macpherson has revealed her secret cancer battle for the first time, saying she refused chemotherapy.
Supermodel Elle, 60, disclosed that she fought breast cancer seven years ago, but now claims to be in remission after controversially choosing not to undergo medical treatment.
The Aussie star shares in her upcoming memoir, Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, that the detection came as a "shock" and left her "confused".
After undergoing a lumpectomy, the WelleCo founder was diagnosed with HER2 positive estrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma.
Her doctors recommended a treatment plan that included a mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and breast reconstruction.
However, Elle chose to forgo conventional medical treatments.
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Though alternative treatments can help with symptoms of cancer, such as nausea and fatigue, there is no evidence to say they can cure the disease.
In an interview to promote the book, Elle told Women's Weekly that she spent time praying and meditating on a Miami beach, ultimately deciding against pharmaceutical treatments and instead choosing "an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach" to healing.
She admitted that rejecting standard medical advice was "the hardest thing" she's ever done, but that ignoring her own instincts would have been even more difficult.
The runway veteran also expressed her belief that chemotherapy and surgery were too "extreme" for her situation.
Elle is now in what she calls "clinical remission", though she prefers to refer to it as "complete wellness".
She explained that some her loved ones had mixed feelings about her denying chemotherapy.
Her youngest son, Cy, 21, supported her fully, while her older son, Flynn, 26, had reservations about her decision.
Elle said, "Flynn, being more traditional, was uncomfortable with my choice. But as my son, he stood by me and supported me, even if he didn't agree with my approach."
Her former partner Arpad Busson, who separated from Elle in 2005 after nearly a decade together, didn't agree with her methods either but wrote her a letter expressing pride in her courage.
Elle previously experienced a cancer scare in 2013 when she found a lump in her breast on her 49th birthday.
Although it was benign, the experience prompted her to rethink her approach to health and wellness.
Reflecting on that time, Elle told the Mail on Sunday, "I was away shooting Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model, so I couldn't see my doctor and I was really panicking.
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"It was four weeks before I got the biopsy results, so it was a long-drawn-out and stressful period of not knowing.
"I was lucky – it was a fibroadenoma [a benign growth of fibrous tissue], but it was a really big warning. I did some soul searching and realised that maybe I was taking the wrong vitamins and minerals, not eating properly and was too stressed."