Magda Szubanski diagnosed with ‘very aggressive’ blood cancer
The Australian comedian and actor is suffering from what she says is a ‘very rare, very aggressive, very serious’ advanced form of blood cancer.
Australian comedian and actor Magda Szubanski has been diagnosed with what she says is a “very rare, very aggressive, very serious” advanced form of blood cancer.
Szubanski made the shock announcement in an Instagram post to followers, saying it was “not good news” but she was buoyed by the support she was receiving from her medical team and family.
“I’ve been diagnosed with stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma – a rare and fast-moving blood cancer,” she writes in an accompanying post. “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.”
She has also appealed to people to keep their distance if they see her in public, saying her immune system is compromised because of the treatment she is receiving.
She has also shaved her head in anticipation of hair loss.
Szubanski is receiving what is known as the Nordic Protocol, which doctors say can be a particularly tough therapy for patients.
“It’s kind of a package of chemotherapy for about four to five months, then high dose chemotherapy, then a stem cell transplant and that’s still largely our standard in Australia,” said Adrian Minson, a hematologist with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.
“Mantle Cell lymphoma is a fairly uncommon form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that, in most cases, behaves fairly aggressively and needs treatment urgently.”
Only some 300 Australians are diagnosed with the disease in any given year, and while it can be treated quite well, it is not considered curable.
“There have been a number of advances over the years, and we are now starting to use more targeted therapies in the first-line treatment setting,” Dr Minson said. “We’re also looking at ways to avoid the need for that very high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant through the use of genomic testing.”
He said treatments could be highly effective and patients could remain in remission for years or even decades, though many would eventually relapse and require medical intervention.
Szubanski said the cancer was discovered by chance during a breast scan that indicated her lymph nodes were swollen. That prompted her to request further blood work, which led to her eventual diagnosis.
Mantle Cell lymphoma is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is often not detected until it is well advanced because most people do not experience symptoms until it has progressed.
According to Lymphoma Australia, even then a patient’s symptoms can vary and include night sweats, weight loss and fever.
“If you have an indolent MCL, your only symptom may be an enlarged spleen,” the group explains online. “However, this can often go unnoticed as it grows slowly over a long period of time, so may only be found when you have a scan or physical examination for something else.
“If you have an aggressive MCL, you may notice a lump that comes up quickly under your skin in your neck, armpit or groin. This is a swollen lymph node that swells as it fills with cancerous lymphoma cells.”
Szubanski is best known for her role as Sharon Strzelecki in TV show Kath & Kim and for her role in Fast Forward.
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