“10 years ago I would look at my body and go ugh wish that was a bit skinnier, or I wish that was a bit more this or that. Now I look at it and think you’re f****** amazing.”
Nearly three years after finding out she had leukaemia and she was pregnant all within 48 hours – Elle Halliwell has been told she is cancer free.
As you can imagine, she couldn’t be happier.
“I was at home by myself and I did a little happy dance in the lounge room,” Elle told Mamamia of the moment in mid-January when she found out.
Last year Elle spoke to Mia in an episode of No Filter. Post continues after podcast.
“I just feel so much more positive and excited about the future. I feel like I can now start planning. It makes you feel just a little bit lighter in my mind,” she explained. “It was like a tonne of bricks just left my body.”
When Elle had found out she was pregnant just two days after she found out she had chronic myeloid leukaemia, she was forced to make a choice.
Abort the baby and start treatment or risk her life and keep the baby. She chose the latter.
“I feel really proud of myself for getting through it. I guess I look at myself and who I was then and I feel sorry for that person.
“At that point I didn’t know what I was capable of. I had in many ways pretty low self esteem. If at the time you’d asked me if I could get through something like that I would have absolutely said no, and so now I look at me today and I realise am such a strong person and I can tackle anything,” said Elle.
Now that she is cancer free Elle has found she has a whole new perspective on things she might have previously thought of as ‘hard.’
"I used to just do walking and yoga, but now I know I am cancer free, it's given me that push to be like now let's take my body to a new limit, and push a little harder, and ask myself - why are you setting limits?
"I appreciate my body so much more. You automatically decide to treat it better when you love it and not constantly hate on it," she told Mamamia.
It's not just in fitness Elle is more willing to push herself, in November she also quit her job as a journalist - something that would have previously terrified her.
"Once you've been to hell and back going back there doesn't seem as scary," she said.
One of the projects Elle is throwing herself into is as the new ambassador for Australian Organic, which as an organisation focuses on educating consumers about the benefits of going organic.
It's something Elle personally chose to do after finding out about her leukaemia.
"I feel really lucky in a way that I know what my purpose is. I feel calm knowing I have a path in life - living a life that's encouraging other people to be healthier.
"The world is so full of toxins, you can't escape it. But we can control what's in our bodies and what's on our skin," she said.
Elle has appeared on an episode of You Beauty, talking about her favourite organic and natural products.