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Magda Szubanski reveals return to public life after cancer battle

Source: Instagram/Magda Szubanski

Magda Szubanski has revealed she is making a return to public life for the first time since her years-long cancer battle.

The Kath and Kim actress was all smiles in an Instagram post Sunday night as she announced some the welcome news.

ā€œHello lovely people, I’m ringing with some very cheery news, which is that I will be for one show only, appearing for my first public appearance in a very long time,ā€ she began in the video.

Szubanski went on to announce two in-person events later this year to talk aboutĀ her latest memoir,Ā I Can’t Tell You, But I Will.Ā 

The comedian turned author will appear at Melbourne Town Hall on September 27 and at the Sydney Opera House on October 4.

It was on Instagram in May 2025 that Szubanski told fans she was battling stage-four mantle cell lymphoma, a rare cancer that’s ā€œvery aggressiveā€ and ā€œvery seriousā€.

Appearing on camera with a bald head, Szubanski said she had shaved off her hair ā€œin anticipation of it all falling out in a couple of weeksā€ as she underwent cancer treatment.

In February this year, Szubanski shared the news that she has completed chemotherapy and was now in remission.

ā€œIt’s not a cure, but because I got a good remission, that hopefully means I’ll keep the cancer at bay for a good long time,ā€ she added.

In her latest post, Szubanski said she was ā€œthrilled to be out seeing the publicā€, but would need to be careful given her immuno-compromised state following chemotherapy.

ā€œI’ll have to be very careful with the germ thing, hope you understand that,ā€ she said.

ā€œBut love you all and really looking forward to seeing you all.ā€

Fans were quick to show their support for Szubanski and her post, including Terri Irwin, who posted ā€œBest news ever!ā€

ā€œSo wonderful to see you looking so well AND you have written a book,ā€ said The Block judge Shaynna Blaze. ā€œCan’t keep a good woman down.ā€

Szubanski

Szubanski’s second memoir will be released in September. Photo: Text Publishing

Szubanski announced her she was working on her second memoir in March, describing I Can’t Tell You, But I Will as a eulogy to her ā€œbeloved mother, Margaretā€ and ā€œfor everyone who has loved or lost someone, or tried to hold themselves together when life demands everything at onceā€.

It comes 10 years after her first memoir, Reckoning, became a bestseller and won multiple awards including the 2016 Indie Award for Non-Fiction, the 2016 Australian Book Industry Award for Biography and the Australian Book Industry Award for Book of the Year 2016.

I Can’t Tell You, But I Will will be released by Text Publising on September 29.

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