Elle Macpherson Reveals Why She Refused Chemo During Secret Cancer Battle

Elle Macpherson Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

is opening up about her secret battle with breast cancer.

The Australian supermodel, 60, revealed to Australia’s Women’s Weekly magazine in an interview published on Monday, September 2, that she was diagnosed with the disease after undergoing a lumpectomy seven years ago.

Macpherson said she was advised to undergo a mastectomy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction surgery, but she decided not to treat the cancer with traditional medicine.

Instead, the model and actress decided on “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” after praying and meditating on a beach in Miami.

Related: Celebrity Health Scares Through the YearsTrista Sutter, Selena Gomez, Ellen DeGeneres and more stars have opened up about their unexpected illnesses and injuries — read more

“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in 
so many ways,” she said. “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.”

In her new memoir, Elle, Macpherson wrote further about her decision to treat the cancer holistically.

“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,” she wrote, per an excerpt published by Women’s Weekly.

“Sometimes an authentic choice from the heart makes no sense to others … but it doesn’t have to,” she added. “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. It 
was time for deep, inner reflection. And that took courage.”

Macpherson said that her sons, , 26, and , 21, had mixed reactions to her choice of treatment. Their father, Macpherson’s ex-partner , was also skeptical about her taking a holistic approach.

Related: Celebrities Who Swear by MeditationBreathe in, breath out, say om — get zen! Hollywood stars often lead the charge on wellness trends, and the practice of meditation is no different. Celebrities from Connie Britton to Megan Fox to Paul McCartney are known to stay centered by taking anywhere from three to 10 minutes or more a day to meditate. […]

“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,” she wrote in the memoir, per Women’s Weekly. “Flynn, being more conventional, wasn’t comfortable with my choice at all.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe

By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly

Deal of the DayGrab This Best-Selling Fall Sweater Top While it’s Still 20% off for Labor Day!View Deal

Check our latest news in Google News

Follow Us

Check our latest news in Apple News

Follow UsjQuery( document ).ready( function( $ ) { let randomNumber = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 ), is_spanish = false, is_featured_post = false; if ( randomNumber < 96 && $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).length ) { $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).show(); $( '#news-block .news-widget, #news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); } else { if( $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).length ) { $( '#news-block .shop-with-us__container' ).remove(); } if ( is_spanish ) { // 99% should be newsletter signup if ( randomNumber < 99 ) { $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).remove(); } else { $( '#news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).show(); } } else if ( is_featured_post ) { // no newsletter block $( '#news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).show(); } else { // 50/50 if( 0 === parseInt( $.now() ) % 2 ) { $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).remove(); } else { $( '#news-block .newsletter-form' ).remove(); $( '#news-block .news-widget' ).show(); } } if ( navigator.userAgent.match( /(iPod|iPhone|iPad)/ ) ) { $( '#news-block .news-widget .google-news' ).remove(); } else { $( '#news-block .news-widget .apple-news' ).remove(); } } } );

Macpherson said Busson “didn’t agree with what I was doing” but supported her regardless. “He wrote to me to tell me how proud he was of the courage I was showing,” she wrote.

Seven years on from her diagnosis, Macpherson told Women’s Weekly that she had overcome the cancer.

“In traditional terms, they’d say I’m in clinical remission, but I would say I’m in utter wellness. And I am,” she said.

In this articleElle Macpherson

Elle Macpherson Reveals Why She Refused Chemo During Secret Cancer Battle

Elle Macpherson Reveals Why She Refused Chemo During Secret Cancer Battle

Elle Macpherson Reveals Why She Refused Chemo During Secret Cancer Battle

Elle Macpherson Reveals Why She Refused Chemo During Secret Cancer Battle

Elle Macpherson Reveals Why She Refused Chemo During Secret Cancer Battle