“Dig a hole in my chest”: Supermodel reveals double cancer fight
Supermodel icon Linda Evangelista has shared the devastating details of her cancer battle, after being diagnosed twice in five years.
In a candid interview with WSJ magazine, the 58-year-old revealed why she chose to "keep it quiet" and only tell a handful of people close to her about her health battle.
Evangelista was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 after a routine mammogram, and decided to undergo a bilateral mastectomy: a surgical procedure to remove both breasts.
"The margins were not good. [I chose this treatment] due to other health factors, without hesitation, because I wanted to put everything behind me and not to have to deal with this.
"Thinking I was good and set for life. Breast cancer was not going to kill me."
Four years later in 2022, Evangelista felt a lump on her chest and an MRI revealed cancer was present in her pectoral muscle.
"I just went into this mode that I know how to do – just do what you've got to do and get through it," she said. "And that's what I did."
"Dig a hole in my chest," she recalled telling her doctors.
"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."
After another round of surgery, she was told the outlook was good for the future, but there is always a possibility the cancer could return.
"Well, once it's come back, there's a chance," she recalled the oncologist's words.
"I know I have one foot in the grave, but I'm totally in celebration mode."
Image credits: Instagram / Getty Images