Linda Evangelista has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and underwent a double mastectomy.
The 58-year-old Canadian, one of the original supermodels, also told the Wall Street Journal she found another lump in her chest last year.
Evangelista said her prognosis is “good but not great”, adding that she has “one foot in the grave”.
She explained she had had chemotherapy and radiotherapy for her latest tumour.
“Once it’s come back, there’s a chance. I know I have one foot in the grave, but I’m totally in celebration mode,” she said.
Last year, the star appeared on the cover of Vogue for the first time since saying she had been “deformed” by a cosmetic procedure which went wrong.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the new Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models, which features interviews with Evangelista and other 1990s catwalk stars such as Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington, she said her cancer was first detected during her annual mammogram appointment.
“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,” she explained.
“Thinking I was good and set for life. Breast cancer was not going to kill me.”
The model explained she was diagnosed in December in 2018 and it was detected during her annual mammogram.
How to check your breasts
- Relax – know what’s normal for you and check your breasts once a month
- The best time to check is in the shower with soapy hands
- Take a good look in the mirror beforehand and look for any obvious lumps, skin changes, nipple changes or discharge
- Remember to check your armpits
- Be aware that young women especially can have lumpy breasts which are entirely normal
- Breasts can change depending on menstrual cycle but if a lump persists for more than one cycle, see your GP
Read more: NHS advice and information about cancer.
In July last year, Evangelista continued, she found a lump on her chest which turned out to be cancer of the pectoral muscle.
She told her doctor to “dig a hole in my chest” if necessary, she said.
“I don’t want it to look pretty. I want you to excavate. I want to see a hole in my chest when you’re done. Do you understand me? I’m not dying from this,” she recalled.
Evangelista, who featured on the now famous Vogue cover which heralded in the era of the supermodel, added she has “kept it quiet” while undergoing treatment and that “only a handful of people knew” about her diagnosis.
“I thought to myself, I will share this one day but while I am going through it, absolutely not.”
Earlier this year, fellow supermodel Tatjana Patitz died aged 56 of metastatic breast cancer.
Evangelista has been gradually re-entering the spotlight recently after she spent six years “in hiding” due to suffering a rare reaction to a cosmetic procedure which was designed to decrease fat cells, but instead enlarged them.