Whether actors, journalists, members of the British royal family, politicians or singers: many personalities have, in recent years, publicized their fight against cancer. A few months after King Charles III and his daughter-in-law Princess Kate Middleton, it is Elle Macpherson, Australian businesswoman, model and actress, who has just lifted the veil on the disease. The top model, who celebrated her 60th birthday in the spring, speaks on the subject in her forthcoming memoirs. But also, during an exclusive interview with Women’s Weeklypublished on Monday, September 2, in which she revealed that she had gone against the advice of thirty-two doctors and the wishes expressed by several members of her family.
Seven years ago, Elle Macpherson secretly battled breast cancer. “It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in many ways and it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep within myself to try to find a solution that worked for me.”the woman who is now in remission told the magazine, although she refused to undergo chemotherapy. At the time, she was in a relationship with Andrew Wakefield, a surgeon who was struck off the Medical Register in 2010 and became an anti-vaccine activist, so she preferred to adopt a “holistic approach”. During the interview, she suggested that she did not regret this decision. “Saying no to conventional medical solutions was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.she admitted, moved. But saying no to my own feelings would have been even more difficult.”
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Elle Macpherson on illness: “I was really panicking”
Known as one of the defining models of the 80s and 90s, Elle Macpherson has been admired throughout her career for her slender figure. At 60, the mother of Arpad Flynn and Aurelius Cy is still as slim as she was in her 20s, despite having left the catwalks. In order to maintain her Olympic form, she combines a balanced diet with a diligent sports routine. Before secretly fighting cancer, she had already been confronted with the fear of the disease, as she confided in 2015 to the Daily MailIn 2013, the top model discovered a lump in one of her breasts: “I thought it was cancer. I was really panicking.” Eventually, she learned that it was a fibroadenoma, a benign growth. This fright acted on her like an electroshock and prompted her to change her lifestyle.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
Photo credits: RINDOFF-BORDE / BESTIMAGE
