Elle Macpherson Details “Daunting” Private Battle With Breast Cancer
Elle Macpherson is opening up about a battle she’s been fighting privately for seven years.
The supermodel shared that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, HER2 positive oestrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma, choosing to keep her health struggles out of the public eye until now.
“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways,” the 60-year-old told The Australian Women’s Weekly. “And it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep in my inner sense to find a solution that worked for me. I realized I was going to need my own truth, my belief system to support me through it. 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.”
Though her doctor initially advised Elle to undergo radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and to eventually reconstruct her breast, she decided to try a different approach after seeking advice from 32 doctors and experts.
She described her treatment as “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” working with a doctor who uses integrative medicine, combining therapies and lifestyle changes to improve wellness. And she details this private journey in her upcoming memoir Elle.
“I chose an holistic approach,” she writes in the book, per AWW. “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.”
Opting to go a less conventional route came with its own set of challenges, particularly navigating friends and family members who didn’t agree with her plan.
“People thought I was crazy,” Elle, who shares sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21, with her ex Arki Busson, explains. “Cy simply thought that chemo kills you. And so he never wanted me to do it because he thought that was a kiss of death. 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. My children were extremely supportive in their different ways, but I knew they felt very scared.”
As for her ex, Elle notes Arki was “really supportive” though he “didn’t agree” with her holistic approach.
“Yet he wrote to me to tell me how proud he was of the courage I was showing,” she notes. “Of course he was scared because I’d decided not to take a conventional pharmaceutical route. He considered that extreme. I, on the other hand, felt the chemo and surgery route was extreme.”
In terms of her treatment, Elle traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, where she stayed in a house for eight months alone under a doctor’s care “focusing and devoting every single minute to healing myself.”
Her efforts paid off.
“In traditional terms, they’d say I’m in clinical remission, but I would say I’m in utter wellness. And I am!” she told AWW. “Truly, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging test but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally—not only physically. It’s not only what your blood tests, it’s how and why you are living your life on all levels.”
And while she kept her health journey out of the public eye, she also shared that she spoke with fellow Australian Olivia Newton-John, who died in 2022 following a long battle with cancer, and who also took a holistic approach to her cancer treatment
“Yes, we spoke a few times when I was diagnosed and also through both of our healing journeys,” Elle revealed. “We did things differently, but we did share experiences with each other and how we feel and how we approach things.”
Watch E! News weeknights Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m., only on E!.