Karl Stefanovic's ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn, 54, has revealed she's been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.
The journalist and former Dancing With The Stars contestant shared her devastating health news via Instagram on Wednesday, a day after sharing a photo of herself with a shaved head.
'I'm going to have to read this because on my walk this morning, I thought about all the reasons why I made that post yesterday,' Cassandra began.
'Most of it is controlling the only part of my treatment and diagnosis that I can. That's the part about when the hair comes off and when you tell people. For my adult children and for myself, I'm not interested in hiding and that's because I'm not alone. I'm not walking a path that is not well travelled by many women before me and I will not be the last.
'Breast cancer affects one in seven women in New South Wales, which is where I live. I read that sitting for my mammogram not long ago and I was the one in seven that day.'
The mother-of-three then praised the Australian health system for all the assistance she has received so far.
A day earlier, Cassandra had debuted her shaved head alongside a cryptic caption about life being like 'a box of chocolates'
'My shout-out today is for NSW Breast Screen, who picked up my triple negative occult breast cancer, which is no small feat if you know what occult breast cancer is. I didn't until now.
'I thank them from the bottom of my heart. And when your mammogram reminder arrives in the mail, don't dilly dally. Do as I did, book it straight away.'
She ended her video with optimism, saying: 'It may have flipped my world in days, but there's no 'why me?' There's no 'poor me' here. Just a desire to stop this in it's tracks.'
Triple-negative occult breast cancer is a rare form of breast cancer where no tumour can be found in the breast, but cancer cells - usually discovered in the lymph nodes - are identified as originating from the breast.
The cancer is "triple-negative," meaning it lacks estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors, so it cannot be treated with hormone or HER2-targeted therapies and is typically managed with chemotherapy and other systemic treatments.
On Tuesday, Cassandra had hinted at her diagnosis by sharing an Instagram photo of herself with a newly-shaven head alongside a cryptic caption about surprises in life.
'Life really is like a box of chocolates and this chapter is giving me praline or truffle vibes,' she wrote.
'All kudos to the Toni and Guy pink scissors program for the kick arse clipper treatment by their wonderful Mosman team. It will grow back. Super grateful. #pinkscissors #toniandguyau.'
Toni&Guy's Pink Scissor Program is a complementary hair-cutting service offered to cancer patients.