This Fashion Model Battling Cancer is a Role Model, Too
25-year-old model Dayna Christison is also in cancer treatment. (Photo: Instagram)
When 25-year-old model Dayna Christison of Warwick, New York graduated from college, her plight was similar to that of any other 22-year-old just entering the real world — until she became diagnosed with Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of cancer. Doctors originally thought it was stage two and later learned that it may have been stage four. “I was just coming out of graduation and trying to figure out my next step in life,” she told BuzzFeed. Since then, she has gone through chemotherapy treatment and two stem cell transplants. Currently, she is participating in a clinical trial.
“I decided then that I needed to do this to help anyone I can feel even a little bit more secure in such an insecure time in their lives.“ (Photo: Instagram)
Christison tells BuzzFeed that she started modeling after her second stem cell transplant — when she was completely bald — after a friend asked to take photos of her for his photography portfolio. She attended a model casting after that, and has been signed with New York City-based agency Major Model Management since this summer. So far, she has walked in six fashion shows and can currently be spotted on the Urban Outfitters website. Christison has always been interested in fashion; she graduated with a degree in visual merchandising and previously worked at apparel companies like Kenneth Cole, Free People, and Bergdorf Goodman. But working in front of the camera isn’t just another outlet for pursuing a career in fashion — Christison wants to be a role model for other bald women, too. “It was one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever had to have someone say that I helped them feel more confident because of my confidence,” she told BuzzFeed. “I decided then that I needed to do this to help anyone I can feel even a little bit more secure in such an insecure time in their lives.”
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