By Naomi Clarke in London

Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago.

Macpherson, 60, opened up about her secret battle with the disease and explained why she turned down receiving chemotherapy in an interview with Australian Women’s Weekly.

She recounted how she was diagnosed after undergoing a lumpectomy and her doctor suggested “a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, plus reconstruction of her breast”.

“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in so many ways,” she told the magazine.

“And it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep in my inner sense to find a solution that worked for me.

“So, 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.”

The model instead opted for “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” to treating her cancer that used a “combination of therapies and lifestyle changes to treat and heal the whole person”.

Macpherson, who rose to fame in the 1980s appearing in magazines such as Sports Illustrated and Playboy, has also delved into how her non-pharmaceutical approach is not for everyone in her new self-titled book.

“I came to the understanding that there was no sure thing and absolutely no guarantees. There was no ‘right’ way, just the right way for me”, she writes in her book, according to Women’s Weekly.

“I chose an holistic approach. 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.

“Sometimes an authentic choice from the heart makes no sense to others … but it doesn’t have to.

“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.

“It was time for deep, inner reflection. And that took courage.”

Reflecting on her current health status, she said: “In traditional terms, they’d say I’m in clinical remission, but I would say I’m in utter wellness. And I am.

“Truly, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging test … but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally – not only physically.

“It’s not only what your blood tests say, it’s how and why you are living your life on all levels.”