Concerns have been raised in the wake of supermodel Elle Macpherson's comments about her approach to treatment in the wake of a breast cancer diagnosis.
The 60-year-old revealed in a recently-released memoir and to the Australian Women's Weekly that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago. Machperson said she had a lumpectomy, and is now in "clinical remission".
Macpherson said after seeking advice from 32 doctors and experts she chose not to undergo chemotherapy and instead opted for "an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach".
Survivor Kirsty McAlpine said she believed everyone was entitled to their own breast cancer journey but that Macpherson's comments were "very silly" and "very damaging to people".
"I think when you are first diagnosed with breast cancer, it is quite daunting and all this information that's floating, if you've got someone saying they listened to their heart and followed that way, I just think that's very dangerous.
"Elle is quite wealthy, she has got products that she can use and benefit from herself financially."
Holistic healing "definitely had a place", but this was alongside medical advice, McAlpine added.
"If you've got 32 people telling you to do some form of treatment, why not listen? It is absolutely damaging and really scary."
McAlpine was diagnosed three years ago .
"I had a lumpectomy like Elle did, and they found triple negative, so I sat down with a pile of doctors, my oncologist was amazing, and went through everything."
She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy which she said was "gruelling".
"I would never go against the judgement of my doctors."
McAlpine urged people to listen to their doctors and to "use the community".
"You don't have to listen to one doctor, get another opinion if you aren't sure. Be careful, because you are important."
The Breast Cancer Foundation told RNZ it was concerned Macpherson's comments would mislead people who had more invasive forms of breast cancer.
Ductal carcinoma in-situ or DCIS, which Macpherson wrote that she experienced, was the earliest form of breast cancer and did not require chemotherapy, the foundation said.
"Whenever people think 'oh, [this] celebrity has breast cancer, this is terrible and she's turned down all this treatment and still alive, therefore, can anyone else do the same thing?' That, to me, is a worrying way of looking at it," research manager Adèle Gautier said.
"Not everyone has access to 32 doctors to talk to about their treatment either, you know, which seems quite extraordinary.
"So most regular people are going to be in a situation where they're talking to one or two doctors who know a lot about them and their cancer and are making an informed decision based on the standard of care.
"So you wouldn't want anyone to be feeling like they could skip treatment because Elle Macpherson did and it all worked out for her."
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