Linda Evangelista shares breast cancer battle which she hid for five years
Supermodel Linda Evangelista has shared her secret breast cancer battle where she underwent a double mastectomy five years ago.
The 58-year-old revealed she receieved her diagnosis in December 2018 that led to her having a bilateral mastectomy. She then found another lump in her chest last year. Linda's first cancer diagnosis was detected during her yearly mammogram. The model then had another cancer scare in July last year.
Sharing her experience, Linda said: "The margins were not good, and due to other health factors, without hesitation, because I wanted to put everything behind me and not to have to deal with this, I opted for a bilateral mastectomy. Thinking I was good and set for life. Breast cancer was not going to kill me."
Linda has opened up on her cancer diagnosis (Getty Images North America)
She had a double mastectomy after finding a lump (INSTAGRAM)She recalled how she went ahead with an MRI after finding the other lump. It prompted her doctor to do a biopsy that turned out to be a cancer in Linda's pectoral muscle. She told WSJ Magazine that she urged her doctor to "dig a hole" in her chest. Linda said: "I don't want it to look pretty. I want you to excavate. I'm not dying from this."
Since then, Linda has been told her prognosis was good. However, she questioned why she wasn't told it was "great". The model was informed that once cancer had come back, there's a chance it could return again. She candidly shared she knows she has "one foot in the grave" but is celebrating her positive news. Linda decided to keep her health private and only a "handful" of people knew about her cancer ordeal.
Kate Moss rolls back the years as she recreates 1990s topless Diet Coke TV ad
Earlier this year, Linda said she was left "brutally disfigured" after a fat-freezing cosmetic procedure backfired. Linda claimed that Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting treatment ended up increasing, rather than decreasing her fat cells, and she was left with lumps all over her body which she was forced to hide under her clothes. She said that it left her "permanently deformed" even after undergoing two "unsuccessful" corrective surgeries. But, Linda since revealed the ordeal hasn't put her off having other cosmetic treatments.
Linda toldBritish Vogue: "I don't mind and I never did mind ageing. Ageing gets us to where we want to be, and that's for me a long life." She said late makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, who died aged 40 in 2002, was "so afraid of wrinkles" but never got them. She continued in the interview: "I want wrinkles – but I Botox my forehead so I am a hypocrite – but I want to grow old." She added that she wants to watch her son Augustin James, 16, "grow into a fine young man" and hopes to "stick around".
The model announced in 2021 she was filing a lawsuit against the procedure's parent company Zeltiq Aesthetic Inc. It was reported that she was seeking $50 million (around £40 million) in damages, claiming she'd been unable to work. The lawsuit was settled last year and Linda said at the time that she was "pleased" to have settled the case and looked forward to the "next chapter" of her life. She was also "happy to put this matter behind [her]."
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
