Elle Macpherson’s secret most cancers battle – why she refused chemotherapy

Elle Macpherson has revealed she secretly battled breast cancer seven years ago but is now in remission after she refused to undergo chemotherapy.

The Australian supermodel, 60, revealed in her upcoming memoir, Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, that she took a holistic approach to her illness – going against the advice of 32 doctors and experts. 

Speaking to Women’s Weekly about her diagnosis, she revealed: ‘It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways and it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep in my inner sense to find a solution that worked for me.’

After receiving a lumpectomy seven years ago, the WelleCo founder was diagnosed with HER2 positive oestrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma. 

The doctor recommended Elle undergo a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and the reconstruction of her breast to treat it. 

Elle Macpherson, 60, (pictured) has revealed her secret cancer struggle seven years after being diagnosed and why she refused to undergo chemotherapy

However, Elle – who is known in recent years for her holistic approach to wellness – decided against traditional medicine, as ‘a wonderful exercise in being true to myself, trusting myself and trusting the nature of my body and the course of action that I had chosen’.

Elle said she prayed and meditated on a beach in Miami to conclude she didn’t want to treat her cancer with pharmaceuticals, but rather ‘an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach’. 

‘Saying no to standard medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But saying no to my own inner sense would have been even harder,’ she explained, later adding she thought chemotherapy and surgery were too ‘extreme’.

The model, who was known as The Body in her heyday, said ‘people thought I was crazy’ but she forged ahead anyway with a treatment plan that ‘resonated’ with her, ‘addressing emotional as well as physical factors associated with breast cancer’. 

Elle revealed that she rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona for eight months where she ‘holistically treated’ her cancer under the guidance of her primary doctor, a doctor of naturopathy, holistic dentist, osteopath, chiropractor and two therapists. 

Staying in the house alone, Elle said she spent her days ‘focusing and devoting every single minute to healing myself’. 

While Elle is now in ‘clinical remission’, which she instead chooses to call ‘utter wellness’, she said her sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21, and former partner Arpad ‘Arki’ Busson had mixed reactions about her unusual approach to the cancer diagnosis. 

Her youngest son fully supported his famous mother because he believed chemotherapy was ‘a kiss of death’, but her eldest had his reservations.

‘Flynn, being more conventional, wasn’t comfortable with my choice at all. He is my son, though, and would support me through anything and love me through my choices, even if he didn’t agree with them,’ Elle said. 

As for Arki, who Elle separated from in 2005 after almost ten years together, the father of Flynn and Cy ‘didn’t agree’ with Elle’s methods but wrote a letter telling her how ‘proud’ he was of ‘the courage I was showing’. 

She said she went against the advice of 32 doctors, and the wishes of her family, to treat her breast cancer without the usual medical methods, reported Women’s Weekly on Monday. Pictured with her sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21

Typical cancer treatment revolves around surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Cancer Research UK notes that some patients also use complementary therapies to feel better, ease the side effects of these treatments and improve quality of life.

Aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage therapy, visualisation and yoga are among the most common examples, it said.

Meanwhile, alternative therapies are typically used instead of medical treatment.

Some examples include shark cartilage supplements, laetrile (a plant substance) and Gerson therapy, which involves following an organic vegetarian diet and undergoing up to five coffee enemas a day.

There is no scientific or medical evidence that these therapies can cure cancer.

Some might even be unsafe, trigger harmful side effects or interact with medical treatment, according to Cancer Research UK.

Experts agree that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is both important in the prevention of cancer and during cancer treatment.

Evidence shows it can help manage the stress and fatigue caused by the disease and treatment.

Studies have also found people who get exercise during treatment not only deal better with side effects but also may live longer.

International guidelines recommend patients stay active and get back to their normal activities as soon as possible.

Elle said she prayed and meditated on a beach in Miami to come to the conclusion she didn’t want to treat her cancer with pharmaceuticals, but rather ‘an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach’

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?

What is breast cancer?

It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.

When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.

Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.

Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.

What causes breast cancer?

A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.

Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign. 

The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

• Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
• Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.

If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.

How is breast cancer treated?

Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.

• Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
• Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
• Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
• Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.

How successful is treatment?

The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.

The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.

For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000