For the thousands of Australians watching 60 Minutes on Sunday night, it came as no surprise to learn that Magda Szubanski faced her chemotherapy at Cabrini for mantle cell lymphoma with “good humour”.

Magda shared her cancer journey with Australia during the episode, inviting friends and her treating haematologist-oncologist, Cabrini’s Associate Professor Melita Kenealy, to join her in the telling of her story.

It was Melita who delivered the news to the comedy legend that she had stage four mantle cell lymphoma, a rare cancer type, and that what lay ahead was going to be tough.

“Magda said she felt really crook for quite some time and knew that there was something going on,” Melita told reporter Tracey Grimshaw.

“When I told her, she was shocked, but I think she also felt a little validated that there was something to explain why she’d been feeling unwell. She clearly needed treatment, so we had to talk about the different sorts of treatment that would be options for her at that stage.”

About two thirds of people taking the treatment pathway that Melita proposed reach remission.

“So, it’s not a promise, but it’s the best that we can do to knock out all of those cancer cells and get her into a remission,” she said.

Faced with a “brutal” treatment schedule, Magda tackled it the best way she knew how.

“Magda wanted all the stats,” Melita said. “She wanted to know what was going to happen, what the drugs did, how she was going to feel.

“[But] she got through her chemotherapy with good humour. She was very honest with me, and she expected the same in return, and she was very trusting. And even though she’s a very public person, this was a very personal journey for her.

“I really enjoyed looking after her. I love doing what I do, and to be able to provide that support for Magda with my team when she was in that position was very special.”

Melita said her patient made use of all the resources that Cabrini offered her to support her care.

“She tapped into everything that she needed with her own supports, and with the supports we’re able to provide her at the hospital,” Melita said. “And my team of doctors took calls from Magda whenever she needed help.

“And Magda is now in really deep remission and I’m hoping she’ll be in remission for a number of years.”

Mantle cell lymphoma is an uncommon type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. More than 7000 patients in Australia are diagnosed with a lymphoma each year, but only about 350 of those are diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma. It is typically aggressive, but some people have a much slower growing form of mantle cell lymphoma.

Watch Magda’s 60 Minutes story, featuring Melita and her Cabrini care team, on YouTube