elightfully flamboyant, Lady
Susan Renouf is someone who
clearly relishes living life to the
fullest. Having spent her 72
years happily in the public eye, Lady Susan
is equally known for her marriages to
Andrew Peacock, Robert Sangster and
Sir Frank Renouf as she is for her love of
the racetrack and her friendship circle that
extends beyond Melbourne society to the
likes of Sean Connery and Bryan Ferry.
Lady Susan is renowned for her joie de
vivre and strong sense of humour in the
face of adversity, a strength she has called
upon heavily in recent years. In January
2013, she was diagnosed with advanced
ovarian cancer. As she underwent her latest
round of chemotherapy in March, Lady
Susan revealed all about her unusual
approach to dealing with her treatment in
fighting this insidious disease.“I like to call it my dry martini, because
I don’t want to call it chemo! I go through
a round then I have a little rest, although
the little rest the first time was an
operation. I had surgery halfway through,
when it was discovered the cancer had
spread. But that was dealt with, and so far,
that’s remained clear.
“It was two years before I was diagnosed.
I kept thinking I was just having off days.
People had been saying to me: ‘You’re not
a good colour’ and I certainly was feeling
all those symptoms they listed in the
leaflet: I was very tired at times, bloated,
didn’t want to eat. But it wasn’t a regular
thing you could pinpoint. It just happened.
There were no obvious signs, no lumps or
anything, just a feeling of not being well.
“Then I had an English girlfriend come
to stay with me. It was Melbourne Cup, so
early in November of 2012, and she neededto visit my local doctor. While we were
there I said: ‘Look, I’ve just got a query
about these little penknife pains I’m having
around what we delicately call ‘the groin
area’.” The doctor said it could be a number
of things, including diverticulitis, and they
could book me in for a colonoscopy. There
didn’t seem to be any great urgency around
the whole situation, and anyway, he was
going away for Christmas. By the time
mid-January rolled around, the pain was
far more intense. I knew there must be
something wrong. So I went back and he
decided I could have a colonoscopy or
a scan, so I opted for the scan. He rang me
that night and said: ‘You have masses of
cancer in your abdomen.’ Not a particularly
good bedside manner, I have to say!
“I was relieved I had something. I wasn’t
relieved it was cancer, but I knew the signs
I’d been having for years proved I wasn’t
well. I had a sort of – I wouldn’t call it
a meltdown – but the family flew in. I have
friends all over the world and they all flew
in, too. That’s when I decided to get my
house in order. So the first thing I did was
tell the children. And the second thing,
extraordinarily enough, was call my lawyer
to check my will was up to date; and then
I rang my accountant! Later, I rang two or
three very good friends and told them to
ring the rest of my friends. Then I just got
ready to go into hospital.
“I chose my oncologist, a woman, as it
was an area she’d be very familiar with.
And I have to say I chose very well, because
she’s a lovely woman. Associate professor
Lara Lipton has been a wonderful strength
for me. I wanted to start the treatment as
soon as possible, and that I did. When
you’re new to this situation, it’s very hard to
know what’s ahead of you. I’d really only
been in hospital to have my tonsils out. I’ve
had friends who have had cancer, but it’s
such an intrusion to ask: ‘What do they
do?’ So I had no idea how the treatment
would progress until I got to the hospital.
As they say, that’s where I began my journey.
“It was the round after I’d had surgery
that I really looked like a cancer patient.
I’d lost my hair and was feeling pretty
miserable. I had hoped the chemo wouldn’t
make me react in a very bad way because,
naturally, when you’re in hospital, you do
see the good, the bad and the ugly. My
hospital has a large oncology ward, and
I hate it, I really do. It’s like sitting in
a transit lounge with these large chairs and
the chemo hooked up behind them.D
BY: SUSAN RENOUF AS TOLD TO JANE ALBERTAlways
a lady
A life in the limelight has prepared this
grande dame of Australian society to
wage the fight of her life in the only way
she knows how: with WORDS and WIT.▲102 – MAY 2015vogue VOICES
STYLIST: KELLY HUME PHOTOGRAPH: ISAMU SAWA HAIR: RICHARD KAVANAGH MAKE-UP: LISA GARNER