Elle Macpherson faces criticism from doctors and cancer patients after revealing she refused chemotherapy

90s Australian model Elle Macpherson has come under fire after revealing she treated breast cancer with yoga and meditation and refused chemotherapy.

McPherson, 60, said in an interview that seven years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer and rejected the advice of 32 doctors in favor of "holistic treatment." She rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona, and under the supervision of several specialists (including no oncologists, but physicians and a dentist), spent eight months there, pursuing unconventional treatment: she went on an alkaline diet and did yoga. Now, according to the model, she is in remission. Among those who were with McPherson during this period was Andrew Wakefield, a doctor who discredited himself by falsifying studies that linked vaccinations and autism. At the time, they were dating, but broke up in 2021.

After she spoke about her treatment, many took to social media to accuse her of being "reckless", while oncologists said she was promoting dangerous treatments that could cost women their lives: "This is shockingly irresponsible of Elle Macpherson. She was lucky that her lumpectomy [partial resection of the tumor without removing the breast] removed all the cancer and it didn't spread, but to claim that she 'cured' her cancer holistically is reckless", "I completely agree, I'm currently undergoing cancer treatment and I see people in oncology fighting for their lives. I think Elle should be more careful", "I'm not against holistic therapy or anything that will make you feel better, but unless they removed all the cancer, I'm not sure about remission. Cancer is unfortunately unique to each person", "So reckless. I'm all for holistic therapy, but along with medical treatment. My mother battled various types of cancer for almost 20 years. She had a balance between the two, but she never refused medical treatment. Thanks to doctors and her will to live, she is alive and well to this day," "Not really surprised considering she dated Andrew Wakefield even after he was discredited for saying vaccines cause autism (with zero evidence)."

The Daily Mail quoted several oncologists who commented on the alternative cancer treatments that Macpherson was following. Liz O'Riordan, a breast surgeon, said: "We now know that three out of four women with breast cancer survive for ten years or more if they have all the treatments on offer. We know that breast cancer can come back after 10, 20 or even 30 years, so it's still very early for Elle [to claim a cure]. Everything that conventional doctors are suggesting is based on years of experience and hundreds of thousands of patients. We know it works. We know it's safe. We know what happens if it doesn't work. Elle has been through naturopathic holistic dentistry, chiropractic, an alkaline diet, and there's no evidence that any of it works."

Professor Karol Sikora, former head of the World Health Organisation's cancer programme, said: "I've had a number of patients who have done that. You just can't fight cancer that way. It always ends badly - if what she was doing really worked, it would be fully integrated into mainstream medicine. Complementary medicine is great, but only if it's used in conjunction with conventional treatment. There's a risk that the cancer will grow and get bigger in the breast, spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit and then through the bloodstream to the liver and lungs. That's a common picture with breast cancer."

Macpherson herself has not yet responded to the criticism.