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 went on to date the discredited anti-vaccination doctor Andrew Wakefield.
This article has been corrected to clarify that Elle Macpherson was not dating Andrew Wakefield at the time of her cancer diagnosis and decision on her treatment, in February 2017.