Denise Scott's front yard is picture-book pretty. A weeping crabapple tree is decorated with shiny red fruit, pansies bloom in an old metal wheelbarrow, late winter bulbs peek through the cold, brown loam. And Denise's welcome is warm. She's rugged up in jeans, a soft pink jumper and beanie. Her hug has real affection, and she chatters cheerily in the kitchen as she brews a restorative pot of tea.
It's been five months since her manager emailed The Weekly with this simple sentence: 'Keen to have a chat with you about Scotty.' The much-loved actor, comedian and author had been writing a regular column for us. She loved writing it and readers adored her. Surely nothing was amiss.
Actually, rather a lot was. On the eve of perhaps the greatest role of her career, Denise had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The cameras were about to roll on a boldly reimagined production of the Ruth Cracknell/Garry McDonald classic, Mother and Son, with Denise in the lead. Yet her doctors had advised she begin chemotherapy right away. Our column felt like a bridge too far. Could we please pause it, just temporarily, her manager asked? And could we please not tell a soul? Of course we agreed, and sent our love, and waited.
Then, in June this year with the production in the can and the chemo complete, during a short break before surgery - we received another message: Denise was ready to speak about this formidable year.
It had all begun with an angry, red rash. "Originally, the GP said it could be mastitis," Denise explains as we sit at her long wooden dining table on a grey Melbourne morning.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-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.
