Kylie Minogue and Richard E Grant send ‘love' to actress with stage 4 cancer
The Liverpool-born actress, 64, known for her work on family films Happy Feet and Babe and their sequels, is "hopeful" that a new treatment will help her get through the illness
(Image: Getty Images )
Kylie Minogue and Richard E Grant have sent "love" to Australian comedian Magda Szubanski, following her announcement that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer.
The Liverpool-born actress, 64, known for her work on family films Happy Feet and Babe and their sequels, is "hopeful" that a new treatment will help her get through the illness.
The Melbourne resident posted on Instagram on Thursday, describing her stage four mantle cell lymphoma as a "rare and fast-moving blood cancer".
Under the post, Australian singer and former Neighbours actress Minogue, who has previously spoken about going through breast cancer decades ago, wrote: "Sending all love" along with heart emojis.
Grant, who co-starred with Szubanski in the film Kath & Kimderella and whose wife, Joan Washington, died from lung cancer, wrote: "We all love you soooooo much Mags."
Jurassic Park star Sam Neill, who was diagnosed with a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, wrote to his Ride Like A Girl co-star saying: "Sending huge, healing love and hugs to you, dear Magda.
"You are supported and held in all our hearts."
Muriel's Wedding actress Toni Collette, and singer and TV host, Dannii Minogue, also sent their support.
Collette said: "Sending huge, healing love and hugs to you, dear Magda. You are supported and held in all our hearts."
Minogue wrote: "We will see you walking down the street – everyone will be waving to you and sending long distance."
Along with the post, Szubanski appeared in a video saying she had shaved her head "in anticipation of it all falling out in a couple of weeks", which can be a common side effect of undergoing chemotherapy.
"It's serious, but 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 also wrote.
"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."
According to Cancer Research UK, mantle cell lymphoma "develops when white blood cells called lymphocytes grow out of control" and about 600 people are diagnosed with it each year in the UK.
The charity said that a common treatment is the chemoimmunotherapy combinations, known as the Nordic protocol, which sees the patient have drugs on certain days.
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Szubanski received international acclaim for her role as the farmer's wife, Esme Hoggett, in the 1995 movie, Babe, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning one for visual effects.
She played sports-loving Sharon Strzelecki in Australian sitcom Kath And Kim, which inspired an American remake with the same name, and has been in Neighbours, and Oscar-nominated 2024 animated film, Memoir Of A Snail.
Szubanski, who voiced the role of penguin teacher Miss Viola in the animated films Happy Feet in 2006 and Happy Feet Two in 2011, moved to Melbourne with her family in 1966 from the UK.
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Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
My dream came true, his bride wrote about their wedding. Just 11 days later, Liverpool star Diogo Jota died in late-night Lamborghini crash, writes GUY ADAMS
On what would turn out to be the very last afternoon of his short life, Diogo Jota used Instagram to post a 75-second video montage of his recent wedding to Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children. It had, he declared, been 'a day we shall never forget'. Rute, his childhood sweetheart, also posted photos of last month's festivities, which had involved a Catholic ceremony at one of Porto's most fetching Renaissance churches followed by a lavish reception at a castle in the hills outside their native city. 'My dream came true,' she said. 'But I'm the lucky one,' replied her newly-minted husband. The touching exchange, which remains online next to photos of the happy couple posing at the altar, only adds to the unspeakable sense of tragedy about the 28-year-old Liverpool footballer's sudden death, so soon afterwards. Jota's two young sons – Dinis, four, and Duarte, two – can be seen in some of the accompanying images, alongside their infant sister. 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Alongside a host of family portraits, which now take on extraordinary poignancy, their Instagram accounts contain endless images of the couple's three pet beagles, plus occasional photos of the exotic holidays that £140,000-a-week footballers are able to afford. Recent months had brought visits to Sardinia, Dubai and Lapland, while previous off seasons had taken them to the Maldives and Mauritius. Last night, the devastated Rute posted to Instagram a video of the moment Jota had proposed to her, in 2022. It begins with a footage of a picturesque lake, where a table is set up for dinner, with an engagement ring in a white box on the table. The couple can then be seen embracing and running together across a candlelit lawn. In normal circumstances, such footage might be considered schmaltzy. Given yesterday's events, it just feels incredibly sad. Jota was born Diogo José Teixeira da Silva, on December 4, 1996, and grew up in Aguiar, a working-class suburb of Porto. His father Joaquim, who in his youth had played for a lower league club called UD Sousense, worked for a crane firm, while mother Isabel was a factory worker making electronic parts for cars. Diogo and Andre both attended the local primary school and began playing football for the neighbourhood side Gondomar SC before being offered places in the youth system of Pacos de Ferreira, one of Porto's smaller professional clubs. It was here that Diogo chose to use the name 'Jota' to help distinguish himself from other players named Diogo and Silva in the organisation's youth set up. On the field, he nonetheless initially found it hard to stand out, claiming to have been less naturally talented than many of his peers. Yet like many who ultimately succeed in professional sport, he was able to navigate football's greasy pole thanks to a prodigious work ethic. 'This hunger has been with me ever since I can remember,' he told Sky Sports in 2022. 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Daily Mirror
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Daily Record
7 hours ago
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Rod Stewart opens up on heartbreak with ex-wife Rachel that 'tore him to shreds'
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