Elle Macpherson reveals refusing chemotherapy after cancer diagnosis caused marriage breakdown

Elle Macpherson has revealed that her decision to forgo traditional treatment for breast cancer led to the breakdown of her marriage.

The Australian model, 60, was diagnosed with HER2-positive oestrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma in 2017, which is an aggressive and fast-growing type of breast cancer.

At the time, she was married to billionaire Jeffrey Soffer, 56, having tied the knot in 2013.

However, Elle has made bombshell claims about the impact of her cancer on her marriage, writing in her new memoir, Elle: Life, Lessons and Learning to Trust Yourself.

Elle refused chemotherapy from 32 doctors after her diagnosis and instead opted to pursue ‘holistic’ treatment.

Her decision sparked major backlash from medics and cancer groups, with Elle, who is in remission from cancer, now sharing that it caused the ‘trust’ in her relationship to crumble.

‘My diagnosis of breast cancer, followed by my final choice of Dr. C’s holistic approach to recovery… was not one that Jeff could trust or feel at ease about,’ she writes.

‘And really, this process was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It opened up the floodgates, and everything changed.

‘Our marriage was over and we both knew it.’

As well as contributing to the end of her four-year marriage later that year, Elle’s cancer diagnosis also affected her other relationships, as she did not tell her relatives in Australia as she feared criticism of her treatment choice.

‘I didn’t tell my family in Oz, not even my parents,’ she writes.

‘I didn’t want to put them in a situation where they were worrying from afar, and I knew that my choices were different from what they may have imagined was good for me.’

She adds: ‘The hardest part was making the decision on how to heal. The saddest part was the lack of understanding from people close to me.’

Along with chemo, Elle had been advised by doctors to undergo a mastectomy with radiation, hormone therapy, and breast reconstruction.

She was initially ‘leaning towards the conventional pharmaceutical route’ but, after speaking with multiple professionals, decided to work with ‘Dr. C in Dallas’ who specialises in alternative remedies.

Dr. C advised the businesswoman to ‘go to the beach, pray, and meditate’ as she contemplated what route she wanted to take.

After doing these things, she called him and said she probably wanted to have a double mastectomy and wanted to ‘wear a pink wig’ when she lost her hair.

She also wanted to film the whole journey to ‘tell women that they can be brave just like [her]’.

Dr. C told her to ‘go back to the beach’ and, while out walking, she had a moment of revelation, prompting her to go down the holistic avenue.

‘People thought I was crazy but I knew I had to make a choice that truly resonated with me. To me, that meant addressing emotional as well as physical factors associated with breast cancer,’ she says.

‘It was time for deep inner reflection. And that took courage.’

Elle, who flew to Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2017 for a seven-month wellness-based treatment plan, was branded ‘reckless’, with medical professionals accusing her of promoting ‘dangerous’ therapies.

Her treatment focused on juice cleanses, herbal and homoeopathic medicine, and herbs.

MORE: Hollyoaks star feared losing her identity as she offers update on cancer battle

MORE: Here’s why you shouldn’t ask cancer survivors about ‘the all clear’

MORE: Frasier star in tears over Kelsey Grammer’s moving message after devastating cancer battle