Magda Szubanski reveals childhood sexual abuse for the first time after sharing devastating incurable cancer diagnosis

Magda Szubanski has spoken for the first time about surviving childhood sexual abuse.

Appearing on 60 Minutes on Sunday, the beloved TV veteran told host Tracy Grimshaw that she had been abused as a young child by older children. 

'I hadn't understood. I just thought it was kids playing. And then they locked me in a wardrobe in the backyard in the midday sun,' she recalled. 

'It was mainly the thing of sort of being manipulated, and being … and that horrible feeling that you are able to be manipulated.' 

Szubanski admitted the thing she felt 'most ashamed about' was that she 'then did the same thing'. 

The actress said she felt a sense of 'relief' by speaking publicly about her experiences. 

'I can't believe I'm saying all this stuff on national television, but I'm also 65, and I've got cancer, and who f**king cares?' she shrugged. 

'There's a part of me that thinks, "If there's anything that I know that's going to help someone else, I don't know how long I've got, I'm going to bloody share it."'

Elsewhere in her interview, Szubanski shared the heartbreaking news that she is dealing with what she calls an 'incurable relapse in cancer'.

In her first interview since announcing her Mantle Cell Lymphoma diagnosis last year, the actress broke down as she spoke about her condition. 

'So, it's almost sure that it will come back. It's a question of "when" and then "how bad,"' she said. 

Szubanski said that while she was 'pitching for more' time, she may be facing just eight years before the cancer claims her life. 

'The median survival rate is eight-and-a-half years. So, I could go less, or I could go more,' she said. 

The comedian said she feels as if she is living with the "Sword of Damocles over her head" and understands that her time could run out. 

'For those of us who, you know, it hangs by only a couple of strands, it's a very different feeling,' she said. 

'It is just a different state of consciousness. It's a different awareness of death. It's not abstract.'

The Babe actress described the process of going through chemotherapy as like a 'multi-car pile-up'.

'I'm not being a Pollyanna about this because I think that's not fair to people to do that,' she said.

'It was freaking hard, but when I say it was doable, it was. My results put me in good stead, but it can change.'

Szubanski says that she discovered the cancer after suffering a period of unwellness that led to horrific nightmares. 

'I knew something was wrong. I just felt so unwell,' she said.

'It would wake me up in the middle of the night, literally wake up with a dream voice saying 'you're dying, you're dying'.

'So, it was like, dude, there's something wrong here. You know, there's something really wrong.'

Magda announced in February that her cancer had gone into remission.

'I've completed chemo and I am now in remission. Phew!' she said at the time. 

'It's not a cure, but if I've got a good remission, hopefully that will mean I'll be able to keep the cancer at bay for a good long time.

'And I also wanted to say a special, huge thank you to you for all the love and support that you've shown.'

Elsewhere in the clip, Magda praised her own health team and Australia's medical community, calling it 'one of the best in the world.'

'There's not a day that goes by that I don't give profound thanks to the medical community... and also to the common sense of the Australian people that we see how practical and compassionate it is to have a really good medical system,' she said.

Lifeline: 13 11 14 

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732 

Bravehearts - Sexual Assault Support for Children: 1800 BRAVE 1