Elle Macpherson shared her struggle with breast cancer, revealing that she was diagnosed seven years ago and decided to skip chemotherapy.
In her new memoir, the veteran supermodel reveals that she was diagnosed with HER2-positive, estrogen receptor intraductal carcinoma following a lumpectomy.
Rather than pursuing conventional medical treatments, the 60-year-old chose an alternative approach in her battle against breast cancer. This choice defied the recommendations of 32 doctors.
“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways and it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep in my inner sense to find a solution that worked for me,” she penned in the book, via Yahoo! News.
Macpherson shared that her doctor initially advised a mastectomy as part of her cancer treatment. That would be followed by a regimen that included radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and breast reconstruction.
Nevertheless, she was dedicated to holistic health and well-being, leading her to go a different way. In her memoir, she recounted how she dismissed the counsel of 32 doctors.
After meditating on a Miami beach, the supermodel chose to embrace an “intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” under the guidance of her primary doctor, an expert in integrative medicine. This practice combines conventional medical care with mind and body therapies for a more comprehensive healing experience.
Macpherson acknowledged that refusing traditional pharmaceutical treatment was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” However, she believed that ignoring her inner voice would have been an even greater struggle.
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Despite being labeled “crazy” by others, she remained steadfast in a choice that deeply resonated with her. Macpherson ultimately entrusted her care to a dedicated team of specialists. They included her primary physician, a naturopath, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor, and two therapists.
To pursue her treatment, Elle moved to Phoenix, Arizona. She rented a house there and devoted eight months to “focusing on and committing every moment to her healing.”
Macpherson is currently in “clinical remission.”
However, her decision to forgo standard medical treatments elicited mixed reactions from her sons, Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21.
“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.
“Flynn, being more conventional, wasn’t comfortable with my choice at all,” she added. “He is my son, though. [He] would support me through anything and love me through my choices, even if he didn’t agree with them.”
Her ex-partner and father of her children, French hedge fund manager Arki Busson, voiced his support for her despite differing views on her approach. He praised her courage in a letter but admitted he found her decisions “extreme.”