Elle Macpherson makes bombshell confession about the devastating impact of ‘reckless’ cancer treatment

Elle Macpherson has confessed that the controversial decision to treat her breast cancer holistically was the death knell for her four-year marriage to billionaire real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer.

In her recently released memoir, titled elle: Life, lessons and learning to trust yourselfshe acknowledges that the choice to refuse a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation was not only contrary to the advice of 32 doctors, but also to the feelings of family and friends – especially her husband.

“My breast cancer diagnosis, followed by my eventual choice of Dr. C’s holistic approach to recovery… was not one that Jeff could trust or feel comfortable with,” she wrote.

‘And actually this process was the straw that broke the camel’s back… it opened the floodgates and everything changed. Our marriage was over and we both knew it.’

She also admits that she hasn’t even told her closest Australian relatives about her plans, fearing their disapproval.

“I didn’t tell my family in Oz, not even my parents,” she wrote. “I didn’t want to put them in a situation where they were worried from a distance and I knew my choices were different than what they thought was right for me.

“The hardest part was making the decision about how to heal,” she adds. ‘The saddest thing was the lack of understanding from people around me.’

Macpherson, 60, was diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma – a form of breast cancer – in 2017.

Her choice of a holistic approach to her cancer “was not one that Jeff could trust or be comfortable with,” she writes.

Doctors advised her to undergo a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and reconstruction of her breast.

She admits that her “thoughts leaned toward the conventional pharmaceutical route,” but after consulting with 32 doctors, she chose to work with “Dr. C in Dallas’, who specialized in alternative treatments.

He advised her to “go to the beach, pray and meditate” before finally deciding what to do.

“So I went to the beach, meditated and prayed. I called him and told him that I had decided to have a mastectomy, probably a double, and that I was going to wear a pink wig when I lost my hair. I also decided to film the entire journey and tell women that they can be brave like me. I wanted to inspire and encourage other women in similar situations.”

Doctor C’s answer was ‘go back to the beach’.

As she walked across the sand for the second time, she said she had an epiphany about how to make her decision.

“I opted for a holistic approach,” she says. ‘Saying no to standard medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But saying no to my own inner feelings would have been even harder.

‘People thought I was crazy, but I knew I had to make a choice that really resonated with me. For me, that meant addressing both emotional and physical factors related to breast cancer. It was time for deep inner reflection. And that took courage.’

“People thought I was crazy, but I knew I had to make a choice that really resonated with me,” she says

Macpherson with her two sons Cy and Flynn, to financier Arpad Busson

Her doctor advised her to “go to the beach, pray and meditate” before finally deciding what to do

Macpherson, who has been sober for 21 years, was widely criticized at the time, with doctors calling her “reckless” and “shockingly irresponsible”, while others said she was promoting “dangerous” therapies that could “cost women their lives”.

She moved to a home in Phoenix, Arizona, for seven months in February 2017, where she underwent strict wellness-based treatment that focused on juice cleanses, herbal and homeopathic medicines and herbs.

And because she believes that “healing is 25% physical, the rest spiritual and emotional,” her treatment also included “modalities for resolving emotional trauma” with a “Dr. R’.

“We have been working on letting go of past resentments and illusions, delusions and despair,” she writes. “I shared things with him that I’ve never shared with anyone else, and was bravely willing to let it all go once and for all.”

In fact, she now says she believes she “manifested” her own cancer through “unresolved conflicts.”

“I wasn’t going to leave anything untouched,” she says. ‘Relentless in clearing away the baggage from my past, I was determined to discover the cause of the cancer that had manifested.

‘The mind, emotions, body and spirit are not separate… If I had subconsciously thought that they were, this could have been a major cause of the disease manifesting in my body.’

She adds, “I knew it would be unwise to try to solve a largely emotional or spiritual problem in a purely physical way.

Her strict wellness-based treatment focused on juice cleanses, herbal and homeopathic medicines and herbs

“I am grateful for my incredible body and my breasts that let me know that I had unresolved conflicts within me that needed healing.”

Macpherson was dubbed ‘The Body’ in her modeling heyday and she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue five times – more than any other model

Macpherson believes she ‘manifested’ her cancer due to ‘unresolved conflicts within me that needed healing’

“After years of never truly appreciating my body, I am grateful for my incredible body and my breasts for letting me know that I had unresolved conflicts within me that needed healing.”

This process, she writes, led to the discovery of “the toxins I had never before been aware of in beliefs, thoughts, attitudes, emotions, actions and reactions, relationships, food, environment, habits and circumstances.”

Now in remission, she is convinced that the decision, even though it was the nail in the coffin of her marriage, saved her life.

Shortly after her return from Arizona, she and Jeffrey were divorced. He was later linked to Gisele Bündchen following her divorce from Tom Brady in 2023.

Elle writes: ‘Cancer is no longer an option for me. As if drinking isn’t an option for me. It’s not something I’ll ever do because it’s not necessary. And I don’t need another bout of cancer to learn my lessons. I learned them.’

elle: Life, Lessons and Learning to Trust Yourself by Elle Macpherson is published by BenBella Books