Linda Evangelista sat down with the Wall Street Journal for an interview published Tuesday, in which she made a shocking revelation about her health…
The iconic ’90s supermodel explained that nearly five years ago, in December of 2018, she made the difficult decision to undergo a bilateral mastectomy after discovering she had breast cancer during a yearly mammogram. She told the outlet:
“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.”
What a brave decision. Unfortunately for her, though, she wasn’t quite out of the woods yet…
The 58-year-old shared that for years she was seemingly good — until she discovered yet another lump in her chest in July of last year. She addressed the situation with an oncologist, who she says was “unimpressed,” but ordered an MRI anyway. The results were apparently enough for the doc to take a biopsy, and sure enough, it was more cancer, but this time in her pectoral muscle. But Linda didn’t get discouraged.
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She explained to the outlet that she told her doctor to do whatever means necessary in order to clear her of the deadly disease. She recalled the conversation:
“Dig a hole in my chest. 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.”
Wow! That’s a scary thought, but it just goes to show how much of a fighter she is — especially coming from a supermodel!
This of course came just a few years after Linda was “permanently disfigured” by a fat-freezing procedure. Perhaps at that point she’d made peace with not trying to preserve perfection. Then again, maybe it was just a strong-as-hell survival instinct.
Either way, the doctors did it. But even following the surgery, doctors informed her that her prognosis was good but not “great” — which she wasn’t over the moon about. However, they explained to her that “once it’s come back, there’s a chance.” She added that she received “a horrible oncotype score,” which predicts the likelihood cancer could come back — but she’s staying positive:
“I know I have one foot in the grave, but I’m totally in celebration mode.”
She added that for the longest time, “only a handful of people knew,” but we guess she’s just finally more comfortable speaking about it publicly. It’s not clear as of now if she had a breast reconstruction surgery following her bilateral mastectomy.
Poor Linda — our hearts are with her. She’s also such an inspiration for anyone else facing this! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via Vogue/YouTube & WENN]
