Magda Szubanski: Kath and Kim legend receives absurd gift that makes cancer seem ‘not all bad’

Eloise Budimlich
The Nightly
Magda Szubanski said cancer is ‘not all bad’ because of a special gift she received.
Magda Szubanski said cancer is ‘not all bad’ because of a special gift she received. Credit: Getty, Instagram

An Aussie legend has been given a crafty gift to help get through her difficult ongoing chemo treatment.

Magda Szubanski, a beloved Aussie actor and comedy legend, has received a gift from Lego to assist her as she continues to battle cancer.

The Kath and Kim breakout star was gifted the Lego Land Rover Defender set, which she said would “keep (her) busy for a bit.”

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“The upside of the cancer - it ain’t all bad,” Szubanski wrote on Instagram.

She expressed her excitement in an Instagram reel, and said, “I am such am 11-year-old boy trapped in a 64-year-old lesbian’s body.”

The star jokingly added that she “did think it was going to be a real land rover, but this will do.”

Szubanski said it would be tricky to complete the Lego set because she is experiencing “chemo induced numbness in fingertips.”

“I’ve planned ahead and ordered a building kit with pliers and finger protectors. Good times! Now all I need is a Lego Queen Elizabeth II to pop in the driver’s seat,” she wrote.

In late May, Szubanski shared with her 296,000 Instagram followers that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma, an rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.

“I won’t sugar-coat it: it’s rough. But I’m hopeful. I’m being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant, and I’ve never felt more held by the people around me.”

Szubanski confirmed that she has started one of the best treatments available and will be receiving world-class care in Melbourne.

“I’ll be lying very low while my immune system takes a hammering, so if you see me out and about—don’t hug me, kiss me, or breathe anywhere near me! Wave enthusiastically from a safe distance and know I love you madly,” she continued.

“This is an obscure cancer and was only discovered incidentally via a breast screen where they found my lymph nodes were up. TBH, I’ve been feeling pretty ratshit for ages. So I asked for extra bloods and - voila!

“For now, just know I’m in good hands, good spirits—but I reserve my yuman right to be a cranky old moll. Love you all, Mags.”

The comedy legend appeared on Fast Forward before her breakout role as the netball-loving Sharon Strezlecki in the iconic TV series Kath & Kim.

Szubanski appeared in Babe as Esme Hoggett in 1995, before reprising her role in the sequel Babe: Pig in the City in 1998.

She also dabbled in animation, voicing Miss Viola in the popular cartoons Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two.

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