Karl Stefanovic’s ex-wife Cass Thorburn shares heartfelt message following breast cancer diagnosis

by

Cassandra Thorburn, Karl Stefanovic’s former wife, has shared a touching message with her followers after recently receiving a diagnosis of a rare and serious type of breast cancer.

Oh my gosh, did you SEE?! Our girl, the amazing journalist—and yes, she was incredible on Dancing With The Stars, seriously—she posted a video thanking all of us! It was so sweet, she was thanking us for all the love and support we’ve been sending her. I’m seriously obsessed, she’s the best!

I’m incredibly grateful for all your kind messages of support,” Cass started. “I believe those messages would also bring comfort to anyone currently battling cancer.

She then revealed how she was keeping herself busy during this difficult time. 

Today marks my second week of chemotherapy. I’m trying to stay active and get some walking in whenever I can, knowing it’s good for me, she explained.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the nurses and staff working in chemotherapy care centres across Australia. You consistently go above and beyond, and your care truly makes a difference in the lives of patients like me.

Many of Cassandra’s followers took to the comments section with their words of support.

We’re sending our love and support to you and your family. You’re a truly wonderful person, and we believe you’ll overcome this challenge.

‘Thinking of you and sending you love strength and healing,’ a second added.

‘You got this. One day at a time. Keep smiling,’ a third chimed in.

It comes after Cass shared her devastating health news in a video posted to Instagram.

So, I shared a video yesterday showing off my freshly shaved head, and it really sparked some conversation! I wanted to talk a little more about it because a lot of you were curious.

Cassandra said she needed to revisit 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 having control over the aspects of my treatment and diagnosis that I can control – specifically, deciding when to share the news with others and when to let my hair go.

I don’t want to hide, and neither do my children. I’m part of a long line of women who have faced similar experiences, and I know I won’t be the last. I’m not alone on this journey.

In New South Wales, where I live, about one in seven women will develop breast cancer. I recently had a mammogram, and it was a sobering moment to realize I was among those statistics that day.

The mother of three also expressed her gratitude for the excellent care she’s received from the Australian healthcare system.

I want to give a shout-out to NSW Breast Screen. They detected my aggressive, hidden breast cancer, which is incredibly difficult to find – something I didn’t even know until recently.

I’m truly grateful to them. And when you receive your mammogram reminder, please don’t delay – schedule your appointment right away, just like I did.

She finished her video on a hopeful note, explaining that while her life had changed drastically, she wasn’t dwelling on misfortune. Instead, she was determined to take action and prevent this from happening to others.

Occult triple-negative breast cancer is a rare type where a tumor isn’t found in the breast itself. Instead, cancer cells are discovered in the lymph nodes, and tests show they started in the breast.

This cancer is called ‘triple-negative’ because it doesn’t have the receptors for estrogen, progesterone, or HER2. This means treatments that target those receptors won’t work, and doctors usually treat it with chemotherapy and other medications that affect the whole body.

Cassandra and Karl were married for 21 years before separating in 2016. They have three children together: Jackson, who is 25, and Ava and River, ages 19 and 18 respectively.

I’ve been following Karl’s journey, and he’s now happily married to Jasmine Yarbrough, a former model. They tied the knot back in 2018 and are proud parents to their daughter, Harper. It’s lovely to see him so content!

Cassandra started out working in media and as a TV journalist, but she paused her career to focus on raising her family.

Read More

2026-02-26 01:52