Elle Macpherson reveals in her coming memoir that she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and is now in “clinical remission” after opting out of a traditional treatment path for the disease.
In Elle: Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, the Australian supermodel known as “the Body” said she had a lumpectomy after being diagnosed with the form of breast cancer known in the medical field as HER2 positive oestrogen receptor (ER) positive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
“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 told Australia’s Women’s Weekly of her diagnosis.
Macpherson said her doctor suggested that she have a mastectomy and undergo radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and reconstruction of her breast.
She deliberated for several weeks about her care, but ultimately refused to undergo chemotherapy – despite the recommendation of 32 doctors and experts, she said – and took a holistic approach.