Elle Macpherson has been branded “shockingly irresponsible” after revealing she treated her breast cancer with a “holistic, heart-led approach” after rejecting the advice of 32 doctors.
The 60-year-old supermodel was diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma, a type of breast cancer, after undergoing a lumpectomy seven years ago.
Doctors suggested a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction.
But Elle decided to go the unconventional treatment route and recruited a group of specialists to create a plan that would “address the emotional and physical factors associated with breast cancer.”
The model rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona, and spent eight months there, with regular visits from two therapists, a chiropractor, a holistic dentist and a doctor who claims to have cured her own cervical cancer using juice cleanses and a “detox.”
Elle Macpherson has been branded “shockingly irresponsible” after revealing she treated her breast cancer with a “holistic, heart-led approach” after rejecting the advice of 32 doctors.
The 60-year-old supermodel was diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma, a type of breast cancer, after undergoing a lumpectomy seven years ago.
The supermodel, 60, admitted she took a “holistic, heart-based approach” to her illness and brought in a team of advisers (pictured, Elle with Dr Sara Siso and her ex Andrew Wakefield).
Other “alternative” doctors on Elle’s team included disgraced anti-vaxxer Dr Andrew Wakefield, who was ousted in 2010 for an “irresponsible” and fraudulent article linking the MMR vaccine to autism, and whom the model dated in 2017, around the time of her diagnosis.
Elle is now in clinical remission, meaning she has no signs or symptoms of the disease.
The mother of two admitted that her eldest son, Flynn, 26, who was 19 at the time of diagnosis, “was not comfortable at all with my choice”.
After his interview with Australian Women’s WeeklyFans agreed with Flynn, slamming the supermodel for being “reckless,” while doctors in the cancer field said she was promoting “dangerous” therapies that could “cost women their lives.”
As for X, fans wrote: “This is shockingly irresponsible of Elle MacPherson. She was lucky that the lumpectomy clearly removed all the cancer cells and it didn’t spread, but to imply that it “cured” the cancer altogether is incredibly reckless.”
“I totally agree. I’m undergoing treatment for breast cancer right now and I see people in oncology fighting to stay alive. I think Elle should be more aware.”
“It’s a worrying message. I’m not against holistic therapy or any other therapy that gives you the most peace of mind possible, but if they hadn’t removed all the cancer, I’m not so sure there would be a remission. Unfortunately, cancer is unique to each individual.”
Fans slammed the supermodel for being “reckless”, while doctors in the cancer field said she was promoting “dangerous” therapies that could “cost women their lives”.
“What recklessness… I am all for holistic therapy, but in conjunction with medical treatment. My mother has been battling several types of cancer for almost 20 years… She has managed to balance both and has never refused medical treatment. Doctors and her will to live life are the reason she is alive and well today.”
“I’m not really surprised considering she dated Andrew Wakefield even after he was discredited for saying vaccines cause autism (without any evidence).”
In 2021, Elle also revealed that she had split from her partner and British anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield after a two-year relationship.
In 2010, the General Medical Council struck Andrew off after ruling he was “dishonest, irresponsible and showed callous disregard for the distress and pain” of children.
Since the late 1990s, millions of children have not received the MMR vaccine due to now-debunked autism fears raised by the discredited doctor.
Uptake of the MMR vaccine collapsed in the late 1990s and early 2000s following the 1998 Wakefield study published in The Lancet.
The study, based on the cases of 12 patients, proposed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism and intestinal diseases.
Another defended Elle, saying: “Everyone has the choice to do what suits them. She doesn’t recommend people adopt her method. As someone who chose the conventional route for breast cancer, I would never criticise what someone else decides. Research, research, research… and then free will.”
Elle said she spoke to the late Olivia Newton John before her passing. The actress died aged 73 in August 2022, after a thirty-year battle with breast cancer (pictured in 2018)
Elle said she spoke to the late Olivia Newton John before her passing.
The actress advocated a holistic approach to treating the disease.
But unlike Elle, Olivia received traditional medical treatment, as well as herbal therapy, meditation, and lifestyle and dietary changes.
The actress died at the age of 73 in August 2022, after a thirty-year battle with breast cancer.
Reflecting on their conversations, Elle said: ‘We spoke a few times when I was diagnosed and also during both of our healing journeys.
“We did things differently, but we shared experiences with each other and how we felt and how we approached things.”
Meanwhile, experts criticised the model for promoting a “dangerous” treatment and warned that women could “cost themselves their lives” by following her approach.
Liz O’Riordan, a retired breast surgeon and co-author of The Complete Guide To Breast Cancer, told MailOnline: ‘We now know that three in four women with breast cancer survive their disease for 10 years or more if they receive all available treatment.
We know that breast cancer can come back in 10, 20 or even 30 years, so Elle is still in a very early stage.
‘Everything conventional doctors offer is based on years and years and hundreds of thousands of patient data.
We know it works. We know it’s safe. We know what happens if it doesn’t work.
‘She has been through holistic naturopathic dentistry, chiropractic and alkaline diet treatments, and there is no evidence to show that any of this works.
‘Naturopathic medicine is based on folk medicine and believes that the body can heal itself with a supernatural life energy that guides the body’s processes.
‘Holistic medicine means never getting a root canal or removing fillings, but there is absolutely no evidence that this causes cancer.
“There is no medical science to back any of this up that shows it can work.”
Meanwhile, Professor Karol Sikora, former head of the World Health Organisation’s cancer programme, told MailOnline: “I’ve had several patients who did this. You can’t fight cancer this way.
‘It always ends badly. If everything he’s doing really worked, it would be fully integrated into conventional medicine.
‘Complementary medicine is great, but only when used alongside conventional care.
There is a risk that the cancer will grow and enlarge in the breast, spread to the lymph nodes under the armpit, and then spread through the bloodstream to the liver and lungs.
“That is the normal pattern of breast cancer.”