The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
Elle Macpherson is many things. Supermodel. Businesswoman. Australian. What she is not is an oncologist. Yet in her new eponymous book and a splashy feature in the Australian Women’s Weekly, Macpherson is effusive about her “intuitive, heart-led approach” to treating her breast cancer. In 2017, after she had a breast lump removed, 60-year-old Macpherson was diagnosed with HER2 positive oestrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma. Her doctor recommended a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy – all proven cancer treatments. Macpherson decided to take an “integrative medicine” approach instead. She implies that products from her wellness company, Welleco (300g of Super Elixir greens powder, £63), and a combination of therapy and lifestyle changes helped treat her cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, there is no scientific or medical evidence that alternative therapies can cure cancer. Worth noting: Macpherson was dating the discredited anti-vaccination doctor Andrew Wakefield at the time of her diagnosis.
