Supermodel Pat Cleveland, 68, diagnosed with colon cancer and struggling to pay for treatment: 'We are not rich'

Just weeks after walking the runway for Tommy Hilfiger in Paris, Pat Cleveland has been diagnosed with colon cancer and is struggling to pay for treatment, according to a GoFundMe page detailing her condition.

The famed supermodel, now 68, had "some stomach complaints for a few months," and while in Paris for the Hilfiger show in early March, her belly was swollen and she was extremely uncomfortable. After a doctor told her to go immediately to a hospital, "a scan found a cancerous tumor blocking her colon, and she went into surgery immediately and they operated on her for two and a half hours."

Cleveland, one of the world's first African-American women to walk high-end runways and appear on magazine covers, has been a fashion industry staple for more than 50 years. Her illustrious career began as a teenager in the late 1960s, when a Vogue editor took notice of her on the street, and led to work with top designers around the world. However, her husband, Paul Van Ravenstein, explains on the fundraising page that her achievements have not resulted in financial stability.

"Pat has had a successful career, but we are not rich, she modeled in the days when there was no big paychecks, no big endorsement deals. It was not big money like some of these models make today," he wrote. "And today, one month you might have ten jobs and another month you might have no jobs at all."

PHOTOS: Pat Cleveland through the years

Cleveland is still in in France but hopes to return to the U.S. before starting chemotherapy. But she "has no health insurance, she only has Medicare, which won't cover anything outside of the country," Ravenstein said. He also noted that the diagnosis came as a shock in part because "she is so healthy, she is a vegan, doesn't drink or smoke."

The couple lives in Morristown, New Jersey, and shares 30-year-old daughter Anna, who is also a model. The mom and daughter have worked together in recent years for campaigns for Marc Jacobs and Lanvin.

Weeks before arriving in Paris, Cleveland walked in New York Fashion Week in February. In addition to walking for Hellessy, she closed Naeem Khan's show alongside Alva Chinn and Karen Bjornson in glittering silver ensembles.

PHOTOS: Pat Cleveland walking the runway in 2019