Elle Macpherson has opened up about her secret battle with cancer.
The 60-year-old supermodel also revealed that she had decided against chemotherapy, despite the advice of 32 doctors. Elle revealed that she had been diagnosed with the disease in 2017, but admitted that she trusted the “nature” of her body and the “approach” she chose.
In a candid confession, the Australian icon admitted that she was shocked when she received her diagnosis. That’s when she underwent a lumpectomy to remove cancerous tissue from her breast.
Elle was diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma. Doctors recommended the star undergo a mastectomy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction.
At the time, she was dating anti-vaccination activist Andrew Wakefield and decided to leave traditional medicine behind. She said she was being “true” to herself and trusting her body.
The iconic star admitted that she had been praying and meditating on Miami beach because she wanted to treat her illness not with medication but rather with an “intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach.”
“It was a shock and it was unexpected,” she told Women’s Weekly, adding: “It works for me.” Elle continued, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life to say no to the standard solutions of medicine, but it would have been even harder to say no to my inner self.”
Elle claimed that chemotherapy and surgery were too “radical” for her, and that “people thought I was going crazy,” but she “approved” of her plan. During her battle with the disease, Elle commuted to Phoenix, Arizona, for eight months to “treat the disease holistically,” following the advice of her doctor, a naturopath, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor, and two therapists.
Elle had already been thinking about how to fight the disease, but she acknowledged that her sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21, have different reactions. Her youngest son, Cy, fully supported his famous mother and believed chemotherapy was the “kiss of death.” Flynn, on the other hand, was “not happy” with her decision.
“Saying no to traditional medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but saying no to my inner feelings was even harder,” she said.
Her father, Ardpad “Arki” Busson, also opposed Elle’s decision but openly spoke out about how “proud” she was of the “courage” she showed. According to Cancer Research UK, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often used to treat cancer, but some patients choose complementary therapies to help manage the side effects of treatment.
These include acupuncture, aromatherapy, Chinese herbal medicine, massage therapy, yoga and visualisation. Elle’s diagnosis comes four years after a previous cancer scare. On her 49th birthday in 2013, she discovered a lump in her breast which later turned out to be benign.
Elle told the Mail on Sunday at the time, “I was filming Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model so I couldn’t get to the doctor and I was really panicking. I didn’t get the results of the biopsy until four weeks later, so it was a long, stressful period of anxiety.
I was lucky that it was just a fibroadenoma (a benign growth of connective tissue) but it was a huge warning sign. I did a bit of soul searching and realised maybe I was taking the wrong vitamins and minerals, not eating right or stressing too much.”
These days, Elle credits her fitness to her health and wellness habits. Her strict plan includes yoga in the sun, four-minute workouts, breathing exercises and sound healing, nutritional supplements and an afternoon cup of tea to keep energy levels high.
Having studied law at the University of Sydney, Elle traveled to the US for a year to work in the modelling industry and earn money to buy books for her studies. However, while she was still in New York, she soon signed with Click Model Management and her career took off in 1982.
She landed her first job in an advertisement for Tab, a division of the Diet Coke brand, and quickly rose to the top. In her native Australia, she starred in The Girl Next Door. Soon after her first appearance, she was signed by many magazines, including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ and Tatler.
Although she was an international cover star, Elle’s fame reached new heights when she became the cover girl for Sports Illustrated magazine’s famous Swimsuit Issue. While many people only dream of being on the cover, she actually appeared on the cover five times, breaking the record in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994 and 2006.
Away from the cameras and photo studios, Elle walked for some of the big names in the global fashion industry, including Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Christian Dior, Michael Kors, Valentino and Thierry Mugler.
However, in 1994, Elle appeared nude in the film Sirens, which sparked huge interest in her and raised the question of whether there were more nude photos in circulation.
After the mass hysteria, she decided to pose nude in the 1994 issue of Playboy magazine, “of her own volition,” to share her nude photos. Not only did Elle achieve success in her career, but she also became an international icon. In 1999, she was the first model to be featured on a postage stamp of Antigua and Barbuda.
During her reign as one of the original supermodels alongside Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Pattis, she became known as Elle “The Body” McPherson.
