Walking into Deborah Hutton’s home on the east coast of Sydney is like arriving at an old friend’s place. She greets me with open arms and that beaming trademark smile. Before long we’re propped up on her couch, coffees in hand, nattering about everything from politics to nudity and the joys of getting older.
It was a very different story when The Weekly was here just four months ago. There was no smile, just an angry, jagged scar that made even the smallest facial movement painful.
This was the undisguised aftermath of a serious surgery to remove a facial BCC (Basal Cell Carcinoma) in May this year. The cover image and story the team captured that day would go on to be one of The Weekly’s most impactful and talked about of the year.
The reaction was overwhelming. The issue flew of the shelves and The Weekly’s office was inundated with letters, emails, phone calls and photos from people across the country sharing their own skin cancer battles or thanking Deborah for prompting them to get a check that turned out to be crucial.
With 2020 finally drawing to a close, we sit down again with Deb to talk health, happiness and why she can’t stop laughing about turning 60.
The reaction to your skin cancer story was incredible. Did it surprise you?
Denne historien er fra Christmas 2020-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra Christmas 2020-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
