Model Elle Macpherson Refused Chemo Following Secret Breast Cancer Diagnosis Seven Years Ago

Supermodel Elle Macpherson is discussing a cancer diagnosis she received seven years ago and how she refused to do traditional treatments despite medical recommendations.

The 60-year-old celebrity is opening up about what happened in advance of her new book, “Elle,” which is being released in November.

“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways,” Macpherson told The Australian Women’s Weekly of being diagnosed with breast cancer. “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.”

Despite the model’s doctor recommending a mastectomy with chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy, Macpherson opted for “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” instead, which earned her mixed reactions from family members.

“I realized I was going to need my own truth, my belief system to support me through it,” she told the outlet. “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.”

“I chose a holistic approach. 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 in her book.

The model also talked about how in her opinion, not everyone should take the same approach to cancer treatment. “Sometimes an authentic choice from the heart makes no sense to others … but it doesn’t have to. 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.”

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Her sons Flynn and Cy, who were 19 and 14 at the time, had different reactions, as did the boys’ father and her former partner Arki Busson.

Macpherson wrote in the book, “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.”

“Arki was really supportive,” she continued. “He didn’t agree with what I was doing … Yet he wrote to me to tell me how proud he was of the courage I was showing. 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.”

The Australian-born star also shared an update on her current health. “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.

“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 say, it’s how and why you are living your life on all levels.”