Karl Stefanovic’s daughter Willow comes home from London to support her mother Cassandra Thorburn as she battles breast cancer

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Willow Stefanovic quickly returned home from London after her mother, Cassandra Thorburn, announced her cancer diagnosis last month, wanting to be there for support.

Karl Stefanovic’s former wife, and mother of his three children, has recently revealed she’s fighting a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer called triple-negative occult breast cancer.

According to Woman’s Day, the woman’s eldest daughter, a fashion journalism student at the London College of Fashion since 2023, came home for spring break and celebrated turning 21 with her mother, who is unwell.

Willow had originally planned a road trip around the UK with her mother, but she changed her plans to be with Cassandra in Australia while she receives difficult chemotherapy treatment.

According to a source, Cass and Willow had been making plans for a road trip around the UK when Cass received her cancer diagnosis.

After talking it over with Karl and Cass, Willow decided to fly home and focus on spending time with her mother.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE the drama! Apparently, getting Karl back home from wherever he was was a total nightmare! I mean, everything almost fell apart, and he – he – had to swoop in and rescue his poor daughter! It’s so sweet, even after everything with Cassandra… they were married for 21 years, you know, before they split in 2016. He just always steps up, doesn’t he?

An insider said it was uncertain if she’d be able to fly due to the conflict in the Middle East, but Karl intervened and secured her travel arrangements.

Willow recently spent some quality time with her brothers, Jackson, 26, and River, 19. She celebrated her birthday with a quiet family dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Karl’s three oldest children are reportedly supporting their mother as she fights cancer.

I was so shocked and saddened to see that a former contestant from Dancing With The Stars recently shared some really difficult news about her health. She posted a video on Instagram at the end of February explaining everything, and honestly, it broke my heart.

She started the video by mentioning a post from the day before, where she revealed her newly shaved head.

Cassandra said she needed to review the post she made yesterday, as she’d been thinking about her reasons for posting it while she was on her morning walk.

For me, it’s mostly about being in control of the aspects of my treatment and diagnosis that I can control – specifically, deciding when to cut off my hair and when to share the news with others.

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I don’t want to hide, and neither do my adult children. We’re facing this together, and that gives me strength.

I know I’m following in the footsteps of countless incredible women who’ve come before me, and I’m proud to be part of a continuing legacy. It’s humbling to think of all those who paved the way, and I hope my journey inspires others who will follow.

In New South Wales, where I live, about one in seven women will develop breast cancer. I recently had a mammogram and learned I was one of those women.

As a grateful patient, I have to say I’m so thankful for the amazing care I’ve received from the Australian health system. Being a mum of three, I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me so far.

I want to give a shout-out to BreastScreen NSW. They detected my triple-negative breast cancer early, which is amazing considering how difficult occult breast cancer can be to find. I hadn’t even heard of it before my diagnosis.

I’m truly grateful to them. And when you receive your mammogram reminder, please don’t delay. Like I did, schedule your appointment as soon as possible.

She finished her video on a positive note, explaining that while things had changed quickly and dramatically, she wasn’t dwelling on bad luck or feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she was determined to overcome the situation.

In the caption, Cassandra simply wrote: ‘Shout out to BreastScreen NSW. #tnbc.’

Occult triple-negative breast cancer is a rare type of breast cancer where a tumor isn’t found in the breast itself. Instead, cancer cells are discovered, typically in the lymph nodes, and determined to have started in the breast.

This cancer is ‘triple-negative,’ which means it doesn’t have the receptors for estrogen, progesterone, or HER2. Because of this, standard hormone therapy or drugs that target HER2 won’t work. It’s usually treated with chemotherapy and other medications that affect the whole body.

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2026-03-26 01:51