Magda Szubanski has announced she has stage four cancer. The beloved comic actor, famous for Kath & Kim character Sharon Strzelecki, said in an Instagram post today that she had “stage four mantle cell lymphoma – a rare and fast-moving blood cancer”.
“I’ve started one of the best treatments available (the Nordic protocol), and I’m lucky to be getting absolutely world-class care here in Melbourne,” Szubanski said in a video, in which she appeared with a shaved head. “I won’t sugarcoat 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.”
Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma that affects white blood cells. The Nordic protocol is a new type of treatment that combines chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
The 64-year-old said the cancer was discovered during a routine breast screen, where it was discovered her lymph nodes “were up”.
“TBH [to be honest], I’ve been feeling pretty ratshit for ages,” Szubanski wrote. “So I asked for extra bloods and - voila! So the take away is - get tested and listen to your body!”
Szubanski has battled a number of health conditions over the last few years, including anxiety, autoimmune arthritis, migraines and sleep apnoea, which she detailed in the 2022 ABC series Magda’s Big National Health Check.
Magda Szubanski has announced she is receiving treatment for cancer. Credit: Getty Images
Szubanski’s Instagram post was flooded with comments from well-known friends, including David Campbell, who wrote “I love you so bloody much”. Szubanski is godmother to Campbell’s daughter, Betty.
Julia Zemiro wrote “Oh lovely one!! Sending you so much love and courage and hugs xxx”, while Carrie Bickmore added, “You’ve got this yelling at you now from a distance that we all love you”. Comedians Rove McManus and Tom Ballard also posted messages of support, as did Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
Szubanski has been a favourite on Australian television screens for more than 40 years, with early appearances on the ABC as part of The D-Generation, followed by Fast Forward on Seven.
Gina Riley as Kim, Magda Szubanski as Sharon and Jane Turner as Kath in the comedy Kath & Kim.
It was on that sketch show that Szubanski became a hit, with her characters Pixie-Anne Wheatley, the ringletted sports reporter, and the chain-smoking Lynne Postlethwaite (“I said ‘love’, I said ‘pet’, I said ‘please’” ).
In 1995, Szubanski wrote and performed in Australia’s first all-women sketch comedy Big Girl’s Blouse with Gina Riley and Jane Turner. It was on Big Girl’s Blouse that Szubanski created her most iconic character, Sharon Strzelecki, the red-haired suburban netballer with a bowl cut.
When Turner and Riley left to develop Kath & Kim, Szubanski joined them, and it was there that Sharon Strzelecki – Shazza to her best friend Kim – just about stole the show, with her romance with Shane Warne, love of Billabong ice-creams and her unrivalled ability with Irish dance.
Szubanski and her characters proved so well-liked that was named most popular personality at the 1991, 1992 and 1996 Logie awards. In 2002, she won an Australian Film Institute Award for best supporting actress in a drama for the Kath & Kim episode “Wedding”. She also won writing awards for her work on TV shows Big Girl’s Blouse, Fast Forward and her 2015 memoir Reckoning.
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