Elle Macpherson, who is 60, has shared that she secretly battled breast cancer seven years ago and is now in remission. In her upcoming memoir, Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, she explains that she chose a holistic approach to treat her cancer, even though 32 doctors and her family advised her to use chemotherapy.
In an interview with Women’s Weekly, Elle admitted that the diagnosis was a big shock and very confusing. It pushed her to deeply search for a treatment that felt right for her.
Seven years ago, after having a lumpectomy, Elle Macpherson was diagnosed with a type of breast cancer called HER2 positive estrogen receptor intraductal carcinoma.
Doctors recommended that Elle have a mastectomy along with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and breast reconstruction. However, Elle chose not to follow these treatments. At the time, she was married to Jefferey Soffer, but they divorced four months later after being married for four years. Elle felt that avoiding traditional medicine was a way to stay true to herself, trust her body, and follow the path she believed in.
Elle said she prayed and meditated on a Miami beach and decided she didn’t want to use traditional medicine for her cancer. Instead, she chose to follow a more natural, intuitive approach that felt right to her.
Elle said that refusing standard medical treatments was the hardest thing she’s ever done, but ignoring her own feelings would have been even harder. She thought chemotherapy and surgery were too extreme for her.
People thought she was crazy, but she stuck with a treatment plan that felt right to her, focusing on both emotional and physical aspects of her cancer. Elle rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona for eight months, where she treated her cancer using natural methods with the help of various specialists, including a naturopath, holistic dentist, osteopath, chiropractor, and two therapists.
She spent all her time focusing on her healing process. Now, Elle says she is in “utter wellness” rather than just remission. Her sons, Flynn and Cy, and her former partner Arpad “Arki” Busson had mixed feelings about her unconventional treatment.
Her youngest son, Cy, supported her because he thought chemotherapy was too dangerous. However, Flynn, who is more conventional, was not comfortable with her choice but still supported her. Arki, who she split from in 2005, didn’t agree with her methods but expressed pride in her courage through a letter.
In February 2017, when Elle chose her treatment plan, she was married to Jeffrey Soffer, but they ended their marriage in June. Later that year, she began dating Andrew Wakefield, a former doctor who became infamous for his discredited research linking the MMR vaccine to autism. They met at an awards event in Florida. Elle and Andrew are believed to have broken up in 2020. During the COVID pandemic, Elle supported Andrew’s anti-vaccine views, calling the pandemic a “divine time” to promote his campaign.
In a video obtained by the Mail, Andrew Wakefield introduced Elle Macpherson as his girlfriend before a screening of his latest anti-vaccine film in the US. Elle publicly supported Andrew’s views, saying his film was timely and relevant, especially with vaccination being a hot topic.
This was the first time Elle publicly confirmed their relationship and supported Andrew’s activism. She said she was honored to share the stage with him and mentioned she first heard about Andrew in 1998 when his controversial research falsely claimed the MMR vaccine caused autism.
Andrew, who is from Berkshire, was removed from the medical register in 2010 after his research was exposed as a fraud. His false claims led to a drop in vaccinations and measles outbreaks. He later moved to the US, where he reinvented himself as a filmmaker and continued spreading anti-vaccine ideas, including downplaying the coronavirus as “WuFlu.”
Typically, cancer treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Some patients use complementary therapies like aromatherapy or yoga to help with side effects and improve their quality of life.
Alternative therapies, such as shark cartilage supplements or Gerson therapy, are sometimes used instead of medical treatments but lack scientific evidence for curing cancer. They may even be unsafe or interfere with standard treatments.
In 2013, Elle had a scare when she found a lump in her breast on her 49th birthday. Thankfully, it turned out to be benign, but the experience made her rethink her approach to health and wellness.
Elle said she was worried she had cancer and felt very anxious because she was away working on “Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model” and couldn’t see her doctor. It took four weeks to get the biopsy results, which was a stressful and uncertain time for her.
Elle said she was lucky that the lump was just a benign growth called a fibroadenoma. However, it was a big wake-up call for her. She realized she might be taking the wrong vitamins, not eating well, and was too stressed.
Elle was only getting three to four hours of sleep a night and was constantly traveling for work between London, Australia, New York, and Los Angeles. She would put her kids to bed around 9 or 10 p.m. and work until 2 a.m., then get up at 6 a.m. She thought she was being very productive, starting her day with espresso and keeping up her usual eating and exercise routine. Despite this, she felt her body wasn’t responding well—she had digestive issues, fatigue, and joint pain.
She noticed her symptoms seemed related to perimenopause, as she was approaching 50. Elle decided that to take care of her body, she needed to focus on what was happening inside rather than relying on creams or plastic surgery.
Elle visited Dr. Simone Laubscher, a nutritionist, who told her to stop taking synthetic supplements and switch to an alkaline diet. Dr. Laubscher explained that Elle’s body was too acidic, which can help diseases thrive. Elle was surprised to learn that stress, worry, jet lag, lack of sleep, and eating too much red meat and dairy, while not eating enough greens, can make the body acidic.
Dr. Laubscher created a special mix of super greens, like barley grass, wheat grass, and spirulina, for Elle. She started sleeping more, drinking more water, eating less red meat, and adding more fruits and vegetables to her diet. Within weeks, she felt and looked much better.
Experts say that a healthy lifestyle is important for preventing cancer and helping during treatment. It can help manage stress and fatigue. Studies also show that exercising during treatment can help with side effects and may even lead to a longer life. Guidelines recommend that patients stay active and resume their normal activities as soon as possible.
