Elle Macpherson has revealed she’s a breast cancer survivor, a diagnosis she kept secret for seven years.
The supermodel says she was diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma — sometimes called stage 0 breast cancer — after undergoing a lumpectomy and finding out the results on a Friday the 13th.
“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways,” Macpherson, 60, told The Australian Women’s Weekly in an interview published Monday, Sept. 2.
Her doctor advised a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction. But Macpherson said that after consulting 32 doctors and experts, she decided not to undergo chemotherapy and focus on “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” to treatment instead.
The decision was in line with her long-held belief in holistic medicine, noting she had to be “true to myself” and felt the chemo and surgery route “was extreme.”
But she admitted people thought she was “crazy” to reject traditional treatment.
One of Macpherson’s sons wasn’t comfortable with her choice, the other was fine with it, she noted.
“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 writes in her new book, “Elle.”
“I came to the understanding that there was no sure thing and absolutely no guarantees. There was no ‘right’ way, just the right way for me.”
Macpherson said her treatment involved spending eight months in Phoenix, Arizona, under the care of her primary doctor, who specializes in integrative medicine. This practice combines conventional and complementary approaches, with an emphasis on treating the whole person, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
She also saw a doctor of naturopathy, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor and two therapists, describing her time there as “focusing and devoting every single minute to healing myself.”
The supermodel said she’s now “in clinical remission,” with every test and scan coming back clear.
What is intraductal carcinoma?
Intraductal carcinoma, also called ductal carcinoma in situ, is a non-invasive or pre-invasive breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. It makes up about 20% of new diagnoses of breast cancer.
The condition means abnormal cells have been found in the lining of a breast duct, but haven’t spread, the National Cancer Institute notes.
Almost all women with this stage 0 breast cancer can be cured.
Macpherson’s cancer was HER2 positive, which means she had a higher level of a protein that helps breast cancer cells grow quickly, according to the American Cancer Society.
How is intraductal carcinoma treated?
DCIS can sometimes become invasive, but there’s currently no way to know which cases will progress so most patients are treated.
Women with DCIS usually undergo breast-conserving surgery — where the tumor and a small amount of normal breast tissue around it is removed — or a mastectomy, where the entire breast is removed, the American Cancer Society notes. That’s followed by radiation.
HER2-positive cancer is also usually treated with drugs that target the protein. If the cancer is hormone receptor-positive for estrogen or progesterone, hormone therapy is part of the treatment.
Left untreated, about 10% to 50% of DCIS cases may progress to invasive breast cancer, according to Susan G. Komen.
A 2019 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found DCIS patients who don’t undergo treatment have a limited risk of invasive progression.
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