Elle MacPherson may be “The Body” but that doesn’t give her a free pass on sharing irresponsible views on cancer treatment.
In case you haven’t caught up with the news, she’s caused a furore by telling the Australian Women’s Weekly that after a breast cancer diagnosis, she opted not to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. Instead, the supermodel chose “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” to treating her cancer.
She continued: “I want to help and encourage others to follow their heart and give things a go.”
What things, MacPherson? Like things not actually proven by science and medicine? Things that are not evidence-based and known to work?
Apparently, she also sought advice from 32 doctors and experts, which is minimised in the story. More important seems to be the idea that she “went to a beach in Miami, prayed and meditated.”
As a cancer survivor myself, this type of reporting makes me livid. Why are we platforming the medical advice and ideas of someone whose main qualification seems to be that they are attractive? Have we taken leave of our senses? Nothing against beautiful people. But MacPherson has no professional qualifications to make these statements. (Also, as someone on Twitter joked with me, we can find hot doctors and nurses to explain cancer if that’s somehow a prerequisite these days!)
At 30 years old, I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer – a papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. It’s a long hard story and I did nearly die. But the reason I didn’t comes down to two things: a legion of medical experts, including a cluey GP, a qualified radiographer and an extraordinary surgeon, Dr Peter Barry. Plus many endocrinologists and nurses.
The second – and perhaps most important thing – was radioactive iodine. This is a type of nuclear medicine made at the so-called “High Flux” reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney.
Once, I even got a special security clearance from ANSTO to visit the site, and I cried meeting the men and women who work in this high-risk environment every day to make the medicine that saves so many Australian lives. I’m here typing now because of nuclear medicine. Thanks science! Thanks medical profession!
Let’s get back to Elle. She’s got lived experience in surviving cancer and being a patient. And that’s certainly a valid type of expertise. But it’s not medical expertise.
Dr David Robert Grimes is a cancer researcher based in Dublin and London. In response to Elle’s oogie boogie wellness claims, he angrily tweeted: “Incredibly irresponsible from Elle Macpherson: Holistic therapy is NOT a valid treatment for breast cancer. So entitled that a multimillionaire with access to the best healthcare advises women to ignore medical advice. Ample evidence this bullshit kills people.”
He makes a few critical points here. Firstly, we’ve been here before. We’ve believed non-experts, and it’s dangerous.
Remember the disgraced wellness influencer Belle Gibson? She didn’t have cancer – but told everyone she did. (To be clear here: I’m not disputing for a second the fact that McPherson has cancer.)
But Gibson infamously and fraudulently claimed alternative therapies had cured her illnesses – and she made a motza from selling wellness products to vulnerable people who hoped they would do the same for them. In the end, a court slapped her with a huge fine.
In her wake, she left a legion of victims, many of whom are still reeling. For example, cancer survivor “Kate” nearly gave up chemo because of Gibson. In 2019, she reflected on Gibson’s influence on her: “It was that little bit of hope that people cling onto that blinded me.”
She added: “People aren’t hearing the true effect of what she did. She stole money, yes, they’re hearing all about the money but what about the lives that she played with?”
Let’s not be naïve. MacPherson also stands to benefit from selling wellness products. Her company is reportedly worth about US$200 million.
Now let’s go to Dr Grimes’ second point. This is a post-truth world and after former US president Donald Trump convinced so many folks that the media lies constantly and that experts are elitist, we all seem to want to “do our own research online.” (The irony being that during his time in office, Trump made 30573 false or misleading claims. But I digress.)
Stay with me. We’re flying to London on a Boeing 787 as passengers. I’m sitting next to you in economy. Are you going to turn to me and ask me to land that plane for you and hope that goes okay? No, you’re not.
Why not? Because why on god’s green earth would you entrust your life to someone who has no training or expertise? Instead, let’s hand this job to a pilot who has spent years training how to safely land a plane.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I interviewed perinatal and paediatric epidemiologist Professor Fiona Stanley for the Seriously Social Podcast. She reflected that: “You really must go with the evidence if you want to save lives.”
This was true of the Covid pandemic, and it’s true of cancer, too.
One person told me on social media that MacPherson can do what she likes with her life and that we should leave her alone. Sure. If she’s misguided enough to pray and meditate instead of having chemo, that’s her body and her choice. But McPherson does have a huge audience. Many people follow and admire her, and may just take her word over trained professionals. And the media don’t have to platform such choices as if her word is scientific enough to legitimise them.
If you are worried something is wrong with your health, please consult with a doctor over listening to the views of a celebrity.