Celebrity3 min(s) read
A beloved Australian actress has shared an update on her battle with cancer since being diagnosed with the disease in May last year.
Magda Szubanski, 64, shared updates of her journey in the months afterward, including one from a hospital bed.
The Kath & Kim actress is best known for her role in the 2000s Aussie sitcom, and shot a video from her hospital bed to reassure fans of her wellbeing.
Szubanski was locked in a battle with stage four cancer called mantle cell lymphoma, but she announced in February this year that she was in remission.
The actress explained everything, from her cancer diagnosis to family, as she claimed that there was 'nothing left to hide'.
Szubanski, 65, has been battling Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive blood cancer, since May last year.
Earlier this week, the actress appeared on 60 Minutes, in her first public interview since going public with her diagnosis.
She described her current state as an 'incurable relapse in cancer'.
“So, it’s almost sure that it will come back. It’s a question of ‘when’ and then ‘how bad?'”, she told the host Tracy Grimshaw.
Szubanski added: “The median survival rate is eight-and-a-half years. So, I could go less, or I could go more.”
She joked about pitching for more, as the actress explained that she 'knew something was wrong', including the feeling of her bones 'splitting', which was discovered to be inflamed bone marrow.
The actress candidly admitted: “It would wake me up in the middle of the night, literally wake up with my sort of dream voice saying ‘you’re dying, you’re dying’.
“So, it was like, dude, there’s something wrong here. You know, there’s something really wrong.”
Somehow, amidst the health battle, the actress needed to film an advert for Medibank, as she admitted: “It was … a bizarre, bizarre experience.”
“It was freaking hard, but when I say it was doable, it was," she said, adding: "My results put me in good stead, but it can change. I know all of us live, with a Damocles sword hanging over our heads."
Szubanski went on: “It is just a different state of consciousness. It’s a different awareness of death. It’s not abstract.”
The actress said in May that she had been diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.
Appearing on social media with a shaved head, she explained that her treatment would involve what is known as the Nordic protocol; a demanding multi-phase regimen combining several powerful drugs to shrink tumors, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.
“It is one of the nasty ones, unfortunately,” she said at the time. “The good thing is I’m surrounded by beautiful friends, family and an incredible medical support team. Honestly, we have the best in the world here in Australia, particularly in Melbourne. I feel very fortunate.”
Despite acknowledging the challenges of treatment, she expressed optimism: “New treatments keep coming down the pipeline all the time.”
.jpg_xKEaT0?tr=cr-0.328.2730.3058,f-webp,q-70,w-100)