Elle Macpherson said she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago but is now in remission despite refusing chemotherapy.

The Australian supermodel and actress, who rose to fame in the 1980s, is currently releasing her memoir, “Elle: Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself,” in which she says she tackled the disease in a holistic way, going against the advice of 32 doctors.

In an interview with Australian Women’s Weekly, Macpherson talks about her decisions after undergoing a lumpectomy seven years ago and being diagnosed with HER2-positive, estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma – a type of breast cancer.

She says doctors recommended a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction.

But the founder of beauty and wellness company WelleCo – who was then dating disgraced anti-vaccination campaigner Andrew Wakefield – decided against traditional medicine.

Macpherson, 60, says she rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona, for eight months, where she “treated” her cancer holistically under the guidance of her primary care doctor, a naturopath, a holistic dentist, an osteopath, a chiropractor and two therapists.

She said: “It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in many ways and it really gave me the opportunity to look deep within myself to find a solution that worked for me.”

Of her decision to reject traditional medicine, she said, “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,” later adding that she thought chemotherapy and surgery were too extreme.

Macpherson says she is in clinical remission, which she describes as “complete well-being.” She told the magazine her sons Flynn, 26, and Cy, 21, and her former partner Arpad “Arki” Busson have had mixed reactions to her approach.

Typical cancer treatments focus on surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. There is no scientific or medical evidence that alternative therapies can cure cancer, says Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

The charity says some patients use complementary therapies in addition to conventional medical treatments or as an alternative to conventional medical treatments. Examples of complementary therapies include aromatherapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage therapy, visualisation and yoga.

CRUK says that while some complementary therapies can help people feel better, they may have side effects, while other alternative therapies can be harmful and cause side effects, as well as interfere with conventional cancer treatment.

Wakefield caused a sharp decline in vaccination rates in the UK and Ireland when he published a paper in the Lancet in 1998 – since retracted by the medical journal – claiming a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism and bowel disease.

His theories were later disproved and his medical license was revoked. Nevertheless, Wakefield makes his living by spreading his discredited theories.