Former Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson has revealed she battled breast cancer seven years ago without using conventional methods such as mastectomy or chemotherapy.
- After her breast cancer diagnosis, doctors recommended that Elle Macpherson undergo conventional treatment, including a mastectomy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.
- After seeking advice from 32 specialists, she opted to retreat for eight months to a house in Phoenix, Arizona, with an alternative medical team: a naturopathic doctor, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor and two therapists.
- Today, she claims to be in “clinical remission” and in a state of “total well-being”, but specifies that her choice to refuse conventional treatments remains very personal.
She is currently in “clinical remission”. In an interview with the magazine Women’s Weeklyformer Australian model Elle Macpherson, 60, has revealed that she secretly battled breast cancer seven years ago. And she did so with an unconventional approach: without radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Her testimony coincides with the publication of her memoir “Elle: Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself”.
Isolated for eight months with an alternative medical team
The diagnosis dates back to 2017, “a Friday the 13th” : Doctors tell her that her lumpectomy has revealed the presence of breast cancer. In this case, a “HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma”an aggressive but common form of cancer. Faced with this verdict, doctors recommended a conventional treatment that included a mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. But to everyone’s surprise, the supermodel, nicknamed “The Body” in the 1990s, decided to opt for a completely different approach, more “holistic”.
“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was intimidating in many ways, and it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep into my inner being to find a solution that worked for me.”she confides to the magazine. After seeking the advice of 32 specialists, Elle Macpherson decides to refuse chemotherapy and other conventional treatments. And prefers to retreat for eight months to a house in Phoenix, Arizona, with a medical team that is, to say the least, alternative: a naturopathic doctor, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor and two therapists.
Model Elle Macpherson, who dated anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield, revealed she refused chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer and is in remission. https://t.co/eOl9QjuwiA
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) September 3, 2024
“Saying no to conventional medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. But saying no to my own feelings would have been even harder,” she explains. A decision all the more surprising since at the time, the model was in a relationship with Andrew Wakefield, a former surgeon. Her refusal to treat herself conventionally has also raised serious concerns among those close to her, in particular her eldest son, Flynn, who is rather attached to traditional methods.
Some gratitude towards her breast cancer
Today, the one who played the character of Janine in the series “Friends” assures that she is in “clinical remission” and in a state of “total well-being”. The sixty-year-old even goes so far as to express her gratitude towards cancer, which has taught her a lot. “in terms of self-awareness, self-love and self-knowledge.”
Elle Macpherson, cautious, specifies that her choice remains very personal: “This is not about giving advice to others. I am simply sharing what I have discovered through my own experiences.”. She invites everyone to “use your heart as a compass” when it comes to making health decisions.
