Elle Macpherson made a shocking announcement about her health. The Internet is divided

Elle Macpherson opened up about a secret health scare in her upcoming memoir, “Elle: Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself.”

In an excerpt published by Australia’s Women’s Weekly magazine Monday, the 60-year-old supermodel reveals that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017.

“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways,” the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit vet admitted. “And it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep in my inner sense to find a solution that worked for me.”

Macpherson was living in South Florida, and going through a divorce from real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer at the time.

After her lumpectomy, multiple doctors recommended further traditional treatment such as a mastectomy, radiation and hormone therapy.

But Macpherson had an epiphany while meditating on a beach in Miami: She decided to treat the cancer holistically.

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“It was a wonderful exercise in being true to myself, trusting myself and trusting the nature of my body and the course of action that I had chosen,” reads the excerpt. “Saying no to standard medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But saying no to my own inner sense would have been even harder.”

Not everyone in her immediate circle was on board with the unconventional plan, like her ex partner, financier Arpad Busson, and their older son Flynn, 26. But their younger son Cy, 21, supported his mother, and believed chemotherapy was the “kiss of death.” (While often successful in treating a wide range of tumors, the potent regimen routinely causes extreme side effects such as hair loss and extreme nausea.)

Macpherson reports that the next eight months were spent in Phoenix with a team of alternative-medicine professionals, including a naturopath, osteopath and chiropractor.

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As for her current status? So far, so good.

“In traditional terms, they’d say I’m in clinical remission, but I would say I’m in utter wellness,” Macpherson told Women’s Weekly. “Truly, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging test … but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally – not only physically.”

On Instagram, in the Aussie magazine’s comments section beside a picture of Macpherson on the cover, many folks were split down the middle. Some applauded the way the famed catwalker chose to treat her cancer, while others found her big reveal irresponsible.

“Women will die earlier or needlessly because of reckless misinformation,” wrote a social media user with the handle @coastal_kiwi. “She is going to encourage vulnerable women to not treat cancers. And die earlier than they should have. We need to advocate for quality, accessible and timely evidence-based cancer care. Not listen to Elle. #getyourmammogram.”

This isn’t the first time Macpherson, who founded her wellness lifestyle WelleCo in 2014, has made headlines for her eyebrow raising approach to modern medicine. In 2018, she caught heat for dating controversial anti vax doctor Andrew Wakefield.

After the story went viral, breast cancer advocacy foundation Susan G. Komen released a statement to Vanity Fair:

“We are thrilled to hear that Elle Macpherson is doing well and wish her all the best. Few people with breast cancer are treated with surgery alone,” it read. “While surgery for early breast cancer removes the breast cancer, other treatments make sure all the cancer is gone and lowers the risk that breast cancer will return.”