Elle Macpherson reveals in her forthcoming memoir that she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and is now in “clinical remission” after opting against traditional treatment for the disease.
In “Elle: Life, Lessons and Learning to Trust Yourself,” the Australian supermodel known as “The Body” said she underwent a lumpectomy after being diagnosed with a form of breast cancer known medically as HER2-positive, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was disheartening in many ways and it really gave me the opportunity to look deep within myself to find a solution that works for me,” she told Australia’s Women’s Weekly of her diagnosis.
Macpherson said her doctor suggested a mastectomy, along with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction. She thought about her treatment for several weeks, but ultimately decided against chemotherapy – despite the recommendation of 32 doctors and experts, she said – and opted for a holistic approach.
The 60-year-old said she made “one of the biggest decisions of her life” after heading to a Miami beach to pray and meditate. Instead of a pharmaceutical route, she opted for “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” to treating her cancer under the guidance of her primary care physician. That doctor specializes in integrative medicine, which uses a combination of therapies and lifestyle changes to treat and heal the whole person, the outlet said. The approach is similar to that of the late “Grease” star Olivia Newton-John, who Macpherson sought advice from after the actress famously supplemented her clinical treatment for breast cancer with holistic practices. (Newton-John died in 2022.)
“I realized that I would need my own truth, my belief system, to support me in this. And that’s what I did. So it was 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.”
Macpherson said she had “come to the realization that there are no certainties and absolutely no guarantees. There is no ‘right’ way, only the right way for me.”
“Saying no to the usual medical solutions was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But saying no to my own inner feelings would have been even harder,” she wrote in the book.
According to the Mayo Clinic, alternative cancer treatments cannot cure the disease but can relieve signs and symptoms. The hospital, which specializes in cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, says many alternative cancer treatments are unproven and some may even be dangerous, but there are some that are generally safe. There is growing evidence that these treatments may provide some benefit, the clinic says.
Although one of Macpherson’s two sons opposed her decision and she also faced resistance from others around her, she said her decision “resonated with her” and meant she had to “address both emotional and physical factors related to breast cancer.” She moved to Phoenix, where she came under the care of several specialists, including her primary care doctor, a naturopathic doctor, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor and two therapists.
During her treatment, she rented a house in Phoenix for eight months and “focused every single minute on my healing.”
The model and entrepreneur added that today “traditionally, one would say I’m in clinical remission,” but she says she’s “doing perfectly well.”
“Really, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging procedure… but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally – not just physically. It’s not just what your blood tests say, but how and why you live your life on every level,” she told Women’s Weekly.
Macpherson’s book, in which she shares “her hard-earned, well-learned wisdom,” will be published in the United States on November 19. It was published in Australia by Penguin on Tuesday.
