Elle Macpherson and Cancer, Oncologist: “She Had Surgery”

“Elle MacphersonThe holistic approach the former model talks about has nothing to do with it. She was cured thanks to surgery“. This is how Rossana Berardi, oncologist and national treasurer of Aiom (Italian Association of Medical Oncology), commented to Adnkronos Salute on the news according to which the Australian actress and model, now 60 years old, nicknamed The Body, refused chemotherapy preferring an unconventional path to treat his cancer. “She underwent a lumpectomy, the removal of a lump in the breast, although that is not the most appropriate procedure for this type of cancer,” she adds.

“Expectation of this cancer is over 90% of cases”

For the oncologist, the former top model’s story “is a bit controversial”. “Reading the articles on the story, some elements are not clear, such as having consulted – according to what MacPherson herself said – 32 doctors and experts who advised her to undergo a mastectomy with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction, which she promptly refused. Here, to clarify, this carcinoma does not require chemotherapy and radiotherapy generally follows less destructive interventions than a mastectomy – explains Berardi who is a full professor of Oncology at the Polytechnic University of Marche and director of the Oncology Clinic Aou Marche -, therefore, it seems strange to me that so many doctors have presented her with these options”. And then there is the issue of the holistic approach. “The former model also talks about integrative treatments. On this point we need to understand what we are talking about – warns Berardi – They are certainly not therapies that replace the therapies scientifically validated to date. On the contrary. But in some cases, such as support for the person, they can help during the diagnostic-therapeutic process”.

Cancer, Traditional Medicine and Alternative Cures

Estrogen-receptive Her2-positive intraductal carcinoma is a type of tumor that “requires a surgical approach and you have undergone surgery that is not according to the Guidelines. It is also necessary to understand whether only one nodule or more than one was removed, whether in your case a conservative operation would have been sufficient, even if larger than what was actually performed, or whether you also needed the removal of the breast with subsequent reconstruction. One thing is certain: It is wrong and very serious to convey the message that cancer can be cured with integrative therapies and alternative medicine.“, he concludes.