Linda Evangelista Encourages Early Breast Cancer Screening in New Photo

The supermodel was first breast cancer diagnosis in 2018 and then again in 2022

Linda Evangelista wants her followers to take their health seriously.

On Friday, the 58-year-old model, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, used her social media platform to spread awareness about getting routine screenings.

“On behalf of @su2c (Stand Up To Cancer) and during #CancerScreeningWeek, I ask that everyone realize how important it is to schedule an appointment with your doctor to create a cancer screening plan that’s right for you,” she captioned an Instagram post.

“Catching cancer or pre-cancer early can help save lives. #standuptocancer!” she added.

Evangelista included a selfie in her post, noting that it was an old photo from her 2018 mammogram and biopsy. A fresh scar could be seen on her left breast as she stared into the camera.

The model opened up about her cancer diagnosis during an interview for WSJ. Magazine’s Fall Men’s Style issue in September.

“It was detected in my annual 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.”

Related: Stars Who Faced Breast Cancer and Shared Their Stories

Several years later, she found that the breast cancer had returned.

“Dig a hole in my chest,” she recalled telling her oncologist after the July 2022 discovery. “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.”

Following treatment, she received an update regarding her prognosis being “good” but not “great” because she had a “horrible oncotype score,” a number that represents the recurrence risk of cancer.

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“I know I have one foot in the grave, but I’m totally in celebration mode. I’ve come through some horrible health issues,” Evangelista said, adding that she’s “happy to be alive.”

The advocate revisited the topic during an October appearance on The View.

Speaking to the co-hosts for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Evangelista was asked by Whoopi Goldberg if her two diagnoses differed.

“I think everybody’s experience is going to be different,” Evangelista replied. After calling herself the “biggest procrastinator,” she admitted she’s become “really faithful to” her mammograms.

“Everybody's story’s going to be nuanced,” Evangelista explained. “And mine ended up being, ‘Well just get it out and give you some radiation.’ But I had a really bad oncotype score. It’s a score that tells you your probability of getting the cancer again. They take into account many many things including genetics. But mine was bad.”

The supermodel also opened up about having to undergo chemo and five years of “horrible” medicine.

Before wrapping the discussion, she added that she’s embracing parts of her journey. “I’m okay with scars," she said. "I think scars are trophies. I’m good with scars.”

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