Elle Macpherson warned her support for holistic cancer treatments could end up leading to someone’s death
Elle Macpherson has been warned by a cancer-survivor TV host her support for holistic treatments for the disease could end up leading to someone’s death.
Supermodel Elle, 60, has been at the centre of a massive backlash from medics and cancer groups since she recently revealed she had been diagnosed with the disease seven years ago – but opted for alterative remedies after having a lumpectomy at the start of her treatment.
After Elle doubled down on her comments by giving a detailed interview to ’60 Minutes Australia’ about her health fight, 70-year-old Australian TV presenter Kerri-Anne Kennedy – who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 – hit out in an interview with The Australian: “I understand Elle did what she thought was good for her personally, but the very fact she has resisted any other medical treatment absolutely terrifies me.
“Without question, it will result in the future that somebody will take that line and feel confident enough to try and do it themselves naturally, and someone is going to die.”
Kerri-Anne also slammed the ’60 Minutes’ show that featured Elle for not giving a balanced enough counter-viewpoint to Elle’s support for holistic medicine.
She said to have made the programme “seriously responsible “ it would have had to have featured an “oncologist who could actually balance Elle’s remarks”.
The TV host went on: “I believe ‘60 Minutes’ was irresponsible by not having an oncologist who would give an alternative point of view.
“They should have absolutely gotten an oncologist (who) said, ‘As an oncologist, I’ve seen this type of cancer and many other types of cancers in my 30-year career. People who have not followed the advice have died’.”
Elle is in remission from cancer and told ’60 Minutes’ she has always followed “natural” medicine, and said her choice to use it to fight her breast cancer was as “unconventional” as the “rest of her life”.
The model went against the advice of 32 doctors by refusing chemotherapy after undergoing a lumpectomy for HER2 positive oestrogen receptive intraductal carcinoma.
She instead underwent eight months of intense therapy with a team of doctors in Phoenix, Arizona, all specialising in various holistic medicine disciplines.