Beloved Australian comedian Magda Szubanski says she remains in good spirits after being diagnosed with an “obscure” cancer.
The Kath and Kim star announced she had stage-four mantle cell lymphoma, which she described as a “rare and fast-moving blood cancer”.
Szubanski went public with the diagnosis in an Instagram post today in which her head was shaved, which she said was in preparation for her treatment in which it would fall out.
“I won’t sugar-coat it, it’s rough,” the 64-year-old wrote of her diagnosis.
“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 said she would be lying low while her immune system “takes a hammering”.
“I’ve been feeling pretty rats**t for ages. So I asked for extra bloods and – voila,” she wrote.
“So the takeaway is, get tested and listen to your body.”
Szubanski is best known for winning the hearts of Australians as the sporty, unlucky-in-love Sharon Strzelecki in sitcom Kath and Kim.
That sparked character roles in the smash-hit movies Babe and Happy Feet (and both sequels) among others.
She first burst onto Australian screens in the mid-1980s after being picked up by ABC talent scouts watching her perform in a university revue.
Her credits also include sketch shows Fast Forward and critically acclaimed Big Girl’s Blouse, alongside Kath and Kim co-writers Gina Riley and Jane Turner.
The comedian was also a prominent marriage equality campaigner after coming out as gay in 2012.
She used her profile to push for a yes vote in the 2017 Australian referendum on same sex marriage, including a pivotal appearance on the ABC’s Q&A program and an address to the National Press Club.
