Elle Macpherson explains why she refused a mastectomy while battling breast cancer and opted to use ‘holistic’ medicine instead of chemotherapy: ‘It was not vanity’

Elle Macpherson has addressed her breast cancer battle in a candid interview with 60 Minutes Australia on Sunday. 

The Australian model was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago but revealed the diagnosis for the first time in her new memoir Elle. 

The 60-year-old told Tracy Grimshaw she was in ‘shock’ when she got the diagnosis, but chose not to have the mastectomy and chemotherapy that her doctors suggested. 

‘As you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock. I think any woman, most women, when they’re diagnosed, don’t think it will to happen to them,’ she said. 

Elle underwent a lumpectomy, and learned that her cancer had no clear margins – meaning it could have spread. 

She said she was told to have a ‘mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone replacement’.

‘I sit here cool as a cucumber talking about it but the reality is, you know, it was a very big deep breath moment – let’s put it that way,’ she said. 

‘You know, it’s not logical. It was just an inner sense. I had a feeling that there was a different way to approach this and I followed it.’

Elle says that she has always followed ‘natural medicine’ and said her choice was ‘unconventional’ like the ‘rest of her life’.

‘It was a choice of losing my breasts, or losing my life, that I was given. So it was not a vanity choice, let me put it that way. It was a natural route in my treatment from within,’ she said. 

‘I had been really looking at the body in a holistic way – spiritual and physical well-being’. 

Elle went against the advice of 32 doctors by refusing chemotherapy after undergoing a lumpectomy for HER2 positive oestrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma. 

She underwent eight months of intense therapy with doctors in Phoenix, Arizona, taking a holistic route. 

According to an unnamed Australian oncologist in the 60 Minutes report, because of Elle’s choice, she statistically has a 20 per cent chance of recurrence within 10 years.

Ell has reached the seven year mark and is still in remission. 

The supermodel says that there is a ‘time and place’ for Western medicine, she has ‘adopted a more natural lifestyle because that’s what works for me.’

‘Listen, I got a lot of advice. I spoke to 32 doctors along the way. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a decision that I felt was right for me,’ she said. 

‘And I have come to the understanding that there are no right or wrong decisions or choices in how people choose to heal. 

‘This was the decision that not only felt right for me but also worked for me.’

Elle went on to explain that she does get regular medical check ups, including scans and blood tests. 

She also said she is confident that the cancer will not recur. 

‘I don’t anticipate any and I have no indication that there would be. Zero,’ she said of her chances of the cancer coming back. 

‘The body has the infinite capacity to heal and I am in utter wellness… Fear is something that can really make you ill. So I’m not interested in that.

‘I think it’s a wise way to live life, to focus on well-being.’

The actress, who is now in remission, has been met with a huge backlash and was branded ‘shockingly irresponsible’ by medics and fans. 

Elle has been busy promoting her new memoir, titled Elle: Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, which was released in Australia on September 3 and will come out in the US on November 19.

In the candid release, Elle detailed her secret battle with breast cancer seven years ago for the very first time.

She detailed how she had a lumpectomy – a surgery to remove cancer from the breast while leaving most of the tissue in place – before doctors advised her to have a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.

However, Elle decided to go against traditional medicine, saying 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’.

Speaking to Women’s Weekly about her diagnosis, she shared: ‘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.’

Elle – who was married to Jefferey Soffer at the time before divorcing four months later – said she meditated on a beach in Miami and concluded she didn’t want to treat her cancer with pharmaceuticals, but rather ‘an intuitive, heart-led, 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 explained, later adding she thought chemotherapy and surgery were too ‘extreme’.

The fashion icon said ‘people thought I was crazy’ but she forged ahead with a treatment plan that ‘resonated’ with her, ‘addressing emotional as well as physical factors associated with breast cancer’. 

Elle ‘holistically treated’ her cancer at a house in Phoenix, Arizona, which she rented for eight months, under the guidance of her primary doctor, a doctor of naturopathy, holistic dentist, osteopath, chiropractor and two therapists.

While staying in the house alone, Elle said she spent her days ‘focusing and devoting every single minute to healing myself’.

Elle is now in ‘clinical remission’, which she chooses to call ‘utter wellness’, but said her sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21, had mixed reactions about her unusual approach to the cancer diagnosis. 

Her youngest son fully supported his famous mother because he believed chemotherapy was ‘a kiss of death’, but her eldest had his reservations.

‘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,’ Elle said. 

Elle added that her ex Arki Busson, who she split from in 2005 after welcoming their two sons, ‘didn’t agree’ with her methods but wrote a letter telling her how ‘proud’ he was of ‘the courage I was showing’.

Her comments have proved to be divisive, with one doctor slamming Elle for promoting ‘holistic’ treatment while many celebrities have also weighed in on the debate, including MAFS expert Mel Schilling, who is battling colon cancer.

Dr Liz O’Riordan, former Consultant Oncoplastic Surgeon at Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, discussed the dangers of alternative cancer therapies on ITV’s Lorraine, saying Elle likely didn’t understand the ‘ripple effect’ of her remarks.

She said: ‘I think it’s really hard to get my head around, we know that there is no evidence that alternative holistic treatments can cure cancer and it’s really hard when someone with her profile decides to do this.

‘My worry is that people will see her choice and not take treatments like chemotherapy and the problem is when women don’t choose mainstream treatment and just have alternative treatments they are six times more likely to die.’

Typical cancer treatment revolves around surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Cancer Research UK notes that some patients also use complementary therapies to feel better, ease the side effects of these treatments and improve quality of life.

Aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage therapy, visualisation and yoga are among the most common examples, it said.

Meanwhile, alternative therapies including shark cartilage supplements and Gerson therapy – which involves following an organic vegetarian diet and undergoing up to five coffee enemas a day – have been used instead of medical treatment.

There is no scientific or medical evidence that these therapies can cure cancer.

Some might even be unsafe, trigger harmful side effects or interact with medical treatment, according to Cancer Research UK.

In February 2017, when Elle made the decision to undergo her more holistic treatment path, she was married to Jeffrey but they ultimately split after four years together in June of that year.

She went on to date disgraced former doctor and antivaxxer, Andrew Wakefield, who she met at a ‘Doctors Who Rock’ awards ceremony in Florida in November 2017.

Elle is believed to have split from Andrew – whose discredited research linking the MMR jab and autism made him a pariah – in 2020.

She publicly backed her boyfriend during the Covid outbreak, stating that the pandemic was a ‘divine time’ to promote the campaign against vaccinations.

In video footage obtained by the Mail, she was introduced by Andrew as ‘my girlfriend’ ahead of a US screening of his most recent instalment of anti-vaccination propaganda.

Talking to him before an audience in North Carolina, she said: ‘You made this film during Covid, and it’s interesting because it’s such beautiful, sacred timing when you watch the film, because it’s so pertinent and so relevant… 

‘And for it to come in this divine time where vaccination and mandatory vaccination is on everybody’s lips.’

It was the first time the entrepreneur acknowledged their relationship in public and endorsed her partner’s activism.

Andrew, originally from Berkshire, was struck off the medical register in 2010 after his research showing the supposed link between the MMR jabs and autism was exposed as an ‘elaborate fraud’.

His false claims led to a downturn in vaccination among children and renewed measles outbreaks.

Elle had previously suffered a cancer scare in 2013, when she found a lump in her breast on her 49th birthday.

While it turned out to be benign, it inspired her to reevaluate her approach to health and wellness. 

‘I thought I had cancer,’ Elle told Mail On Sunday: ‘I was away shooting Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model, so I couldn’t see my doctor and I was really panicking.

‘It was four weeks before I got the biopsy results, so it was a long-drawn-out and stressful period of not knowing.

‘I was lucky – it was a fibroadenoma [a benign growth of fibrous tissue], but it was a really big warning. I did some soul searching and realised that maybe I was taking the wrong vitamins and minerals, not eating properly and was too stressed.’

Elle revealed that she was functioning on just three to four hours sleep a night and constantly jetting between London, Australia, New York and Los Angeles for work.

She explained: ‘I’d put the boys to bed at 9 or 10pm and work until 2am because that was the only quiet time. Then I’d get up at 6am. I did that for years. I thought 

‘I was incredibly productive. The first thing I’d put into my body each morning was an espresso to kick-start my day.

‘I was eating and exercising the same as always but my body was numb and unresponsive. I experienced imbalanced digestion, fatigue, listlessness and my joints ached.’

Elle’s symptoms seemed to chime with the perimenopause and the experience saw her rethink how she viewed her health.

‘I was approaching 50 and it seemed normal that my body would be adapting to the next phase of maturity.

‘I decided that if I was to maintain my body, it had to come from the inside. It wasn’t going to come from only putting creams on my face, and I’m not one who can mess about with plastic surgery at this point.’

Elle visited Harley Street nutritionist Dr Simone Laubscher, who advised her to stop taking synthetic supplements and start an alkaline diet.

‘She said, “What you are describing is a very acidic body”,’ Elle recalled.

‘Disease thrives in an acidic body, and I didn’t realise that stress, worry, jet lag, not getting enough sleep and eating too much red meat, dairy or not enough greens can make your body acidic.’

‘I started sleeping more, woke up with more water, ate less red meat, added more fruit and vegetables and within weeks I felt like a completely different person,’ she acknowledged.

‘I didn’t realise how these relatively small changes to my routine could make me feel and look so much better.’

Experts agree that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is both important in the prevention of cancer and during cancer treatment.

Evidence shows it can help manage the stress and fatigue caused by the disease and treatment.

Studies have also found people who get exercise during treatment not only deal better with side effects but also may live longer.

International guidelines recommend patients stay active and get back to their normal activities as soon as possible.

Elle is known for her focus on wellness and detailed her daily regime in 2022, telling how she regularly meditates, plunges into cold water, has sessions in her infrared sauna and tea ceremonies. 

Her routine includes yoga in the sun, supplements, a four-minute workout, ‘breath work and sound healing’ as well as a cup of tea to keep her energy up in the afternoon.

Elle also does daily meditation in the morning for 25 minutes and ‘breath practice’ to take care of her ‘mind body and spirit’. 

She said she has no set schedule when it comes to exercise and prefers to ‘go with the flow’ and swears by regular sessions in her infrared sauna as well as a cold plunge to ‘reset’. 

A ‘big believer in energy healing’, Elle also books regular appointments for acupuncture, chiropractic, breath work and sound healing as well as Russian Banyas, an ancient tradition of steam bathing with a wood stove burning dry tree or herb branches called veniks. 

She adheres to a plant-based diet, prefers homemade meals made ‘with love’, and buys all her groceries locally grown and organic, handpicked from her local farmer’s market. 

The Macmillan Support Line offers confidential support to people living with cancer and their loved ones. Readers in the UK can contact them by calling 0808 808 00 00

Readers in Australia can contact Cancer Council by calling 13 11 20

American Cancer Society can be contacted by calling 1-800-227-2345