Celebrity
Magda Szubanski, blood cancer diagnosis: Star reveals she’s been diagnosed with stage 4 mantle Cell Lymphoma
Magda Szubanski has been diagnosed with a “rare and fast-moving” blood cancer.
The beloved Australian comedian, actress and author, 64, shared the news via Instagram, saying she has stage 4 mantle Cell Lymphoma – “one of the nasty ones”, in her own words.
“Lovelies. Well. Some not great news,” the Kath and Kim star captioned her video, in which she appears with a shaved head “in anticipation of it all falling out”.
Watch the video above.
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“It’s serious, but I’ve started one of the best treatments available… and I’m lucky to be getting absolutely world-class care here in Melbourne.
“I won’t sugar-coat it: it’s rough. But I’m hopeful.
“I’m being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant, and I’ve never felt more held by the people around me.”
Szubanski – famous for her roles in TV shows and movies including Fast Forward, Happy Feet and Babe, and for hosting The Weakest Link – said she will be lying low while her immune system “takes a hammering” during treatment.
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“So if you see me out and about – don’t hug me, kiss me, or breathe anywhere near me!” her caption continued.
“Wave enthusiastically from a safe distance and know I love you madly.”
Szubanski’s “obscure” cancer was discovered incidentally via a breast screen, she said, when doctors noticed her lymph nodes “were up”.
“I’ve been feeling pretty rats–t for ages. So I asked for extra bloods and – voila!” she added, urging her followers, “Get tested and listen to your body.”
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“For now, just know I’m in good hands, good spirits – but I reserve my human right to be a cranky old moll,” she finished the caption, signing off with her signature humour.
In the video, the TV icon was close to tears, before breaking out in a laugh at the end and declaring, “What are you gonna do?”
”It’s pretty confronting, but new treatments keep coming down the pipeline all the time,” Szubanski said in the clip.
Several celebrities have sent their well wishes to the star in the comment section of her video.
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Sam Neill, 77, who has faced his own battle with blood cancer, shared a message of solidarity, writing, “Right there with you darling.”
Radio presenter Carrie Bickmore, who lost her husband Greg Lange to brain cancer in 2010, also posted.
“Oh babe. F–k. You’ve got this 💪 yelling at you now from a distance that we all love you ❤️❤️,” Bickmore wrote.
“Massive hugs being sent to you and so many more in person to come,” Hugh Sheridan, who starred with Szubanski in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, wrote.
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