Elle Macpherson Reveals Breast Cancer Journey 7 Years After Diagnosis

Elle Macpherson is opening up about her breast cancer journey for the first time.

In a new interview to discuss her new self-titled book Elle, the 60-year-old Australian supermodel spoke about how she dealt with breast cancer, following her diagnosis seven years ago.

“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in
so many ways,” Macpherson, who is currently in remission from the disease, told Australian Women’s Weekly. 

The supermodel added that a doctor called her after she had a lumpectomy and told her it was HER2 positive estrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma, which is a type of breast cancer, per the outlet. Macpherson was then advised to undergo cancer treatment, including a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

Despite her alarm, she said the diagnosis “gave me an opportunity … to find a solution that worked for me” and she opted for a “holistic approach” to her cancer treatment with no chemotherapy or pharmaceuticals used. 

“I realized I was going to need my own truth, my belief system to support me through it. And that’s what I did,” she told Australian Women’s Weekly. “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.”

In her new book, Macpherson writes about her treatment decision: “I came to the understanding that there was no sure thing and absolutely no guarantees. There was no ‘right’ way, just the right way for me.”

“Saying no to standard medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she continues in the book. “People thought I was crazy. But I knew I had to make a choice that truly resonated with me. To me, that meant addressing emotional as well as physical factors associated with breast cancer … and that took courage.”

Later on in her book, Macpherson also addresses the mixed reactions she got to her treatment from her sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21, though she adds that, in general, her family was “extremely supportive.”

The supermodel disclosed that she is now in clinical remission. “I would say I’m in utter wellness. And I am!” she told Australian Women’s Weekly. “Truly, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging test … but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally — not only physically.”

Macpherson previously had a cancer scare in 2013 after finding a benign lump in her breast on her 49th birthday. “I was lucky — it was a fibroadenoma but it was a really big warning,” she previously told the Mail on Sunday. “I did some soul searching and realized that maybe I was taking the wrong vitamins and minerals, not eating properly.”

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The experience led the supermodel to nutritionist and wellness expert, Dr. Simoné Laubscher, who specializes in hormone rebalancing, cancer and wellbeing, per Australian Women’s Weekly. The pair came together to create WelleCo — a one-and-done vitamin and mineral complex and luxury wellness business. Macpherson opened a store for Welleco in March 2016.

Speaking on wellness in 2015, Macpherson said, “As I’ve matured, what I’ve realized is that it doesn’t really matter what I look like, the most important thing is, ‘How do I feel?’ [It’s] when I started sleeping more and relaxing a little more in my life and looking after my nutrition, because good nutrition can change everything. I hadn’t really understood my body was deprived from good nutrition.”

Elle by Elle Macpherson is available to purchase on Sept. 3.