MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ā Australian comedian and actor Magda Szubanski, best known for roles in the television sitcom āKath and Kimā and the movie āBabe,ā announced on Thursday she had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.
The 64-year-old Melbourne resident posted on social media that she had started treatment for stage four , which she described as a ārare and fast-moving blood cancer.ā
āItās serious, but Iāve started one of the best treatments available (the Nordic protocol), and Iām lucky to be getting absolutely world-class care here in Melbourne,ā Szubanski posted.
āI wonāt sugar-coat it: itās rough. But Iām hopeful. Iām being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant, and Iāve never felt more held by the people around me,ā she added.
Szubanski said that she had shaved her head before appearing in a video āin anticipation of it all falling out in a couple of weeks.ā That was an apparent reference to undergoing chemotherapy.
Szubanski received international acclaim for her role as the farmerās wife Esme Hoggett in the 1995 movie āBabe.ā The movie that tells the story of a pig that wants the job of a sheepdog was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
Szubanski reprised the role in the 1998 sequel: āBabe: Pig in the City.ā
She played sports-loving Sharon Strzelecki in Australian sitcom āKath and Kim.ā The series ran from 2002 to 2005 and inspired an American remake with the same name.
Szubanski voiced the role of Miss Viola in the animated films āHappy Feetā in 2006 and āHappy Feet Twoā in 2011. Both were produced and directed by .
Szubanski was born in Liverpool, England, on April 12, 1961, and moved to Melbourne with her family in 1966.
Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press
