Body Image: Healing After Cancer
- Supermodel and two-time breast cancer survivor Linda Evangelista, 59, has revealed she hasn’t always felt confident about her mastectomy scars, but showing her friends what she was insecure about ultimately helped her feel more “beautiful.”
- Evangelista was first diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2018, prompting her to undergo a double mastectomy. She later had breast cancer recurrence in her pectoral muscle in July 2022.
- A double mastectomy is a procedure that removes both breasts. Some women choose this procedure to reduce their risk of cancer, especially if they have a family history of cancer or possess the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation, which also increases their risk.
- A major health challenge can impact your body physically and emotionally, causing noticeable changes to your appearance. Dr. Marianna Strongin encourages cancer warriors to take ownership of the part (or parts) of their bodies impacted mainly by cancer treatment.
Speaking on stage during a Feb. 19 panel discussion at the Shiseido Potential Has No Age Summit, Evangelista recounted how a photoshoot for Germany’s Zeit Magazine left her feeling more confident than ever—thanks to her friends.
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Explaining how her friends inquiry about her scars, and praise, left her feeling better about her body.
Evangelista said, “I should have known myself, looking in the mirror. Something I don’t love to do, but I should have known that it is beautiful.
“And they made me feel beautiful.”
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The kind words prompted her to be photographed without a shirt on, and with no fear of her scars. She added, “I’m beautiful, but I needed to hear it from someone else.
“So I just really think it’s important that as women, we support each other and uplift each other. I think we’re all in this together.”
As for how she maintains her youthful appearance and healthy skin, she also admitted on the panel that she wears sunscreen “every day,” including in the winter.
She also makes sure to be “mindful” when it comes to what she eats and how she gets exercise.
Meanwhile, Evangelista also opened up about her scars in an earlier interview with The View, “I’ve had so many surgeries and I thought I could tackle anything but nothing like chemo to put you in your… you know.
” I’m okay with scars. I think scars are trophies. I’m good with scars.”
Supermodel #LindaEvangelista opens up about her breast cancer diagnoses and how her “goal now is to grow old … very, very old”: “Scars are trophies.” https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/5JlOJB9dHq
— The View (@TheView) October 19, 2023
Evangelista’s Breast Cancer Battle
Linda Evangelista previously opened up about her breast cancer recurrence and how she was diagnosed with the disease twice when she was featured in the The Wall Street Journal Magazine’s 2023 Fall Men’s Style issue.
Evangelista, who has been dubbed as “the fashion world’s ultimate hair chameleon” by Vogue, talked about how she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2018.
“It was detected in my annual mammogram. 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,” she told the news outlet. “Thinking I was good and set for life. Breast cancer was not going to kill me.”
However, in July 2022, the iconic model discovered a lump on her breast and sought immediate medical advice. She ultimately underwent an MRI scan and needed a biopsy done. It revealed she had cancer in her pectoral muscle.
Following the second diagnosis, Evangelista recounted telling her oncologist, “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.
“I just went into this mode that I know how to do, just do what you’ve got to do and get through it. And that’s what I did.”
Her oncologist recently disclosed that her prognosis is good, prompting Evangelista to ask “Why isn’t it great?”—to which he replied, “Well, once it’s come back, there’s a chance.”
Noting that she has a “horrible oncotype [a test that measure the risk of cancer returning] score” and insists on living life to the fullest, she said, “I know I have one foot in the grave, but I’m totally in celebration mode.”
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Referring to her breast cancer diagnoses, she said, “I’ve kept it quiet. Only a handful of people knew. And I’m just not one of those people who has to share everything.
“I thought to myself, I will share this one day but while I am going through it, absolutely not. I don’t want the Daily Mail waiting outside my door like they do every time something happens. ‘Linda seen for the first time since blah blah blah.’”
Understand a Double Mastectomy
A double mastectomy is a procedure in which both breasts are removed to get rid of cancer. The procedure may also be performed as a preventative measure for women who are at a very high risk of developing breast cancer.
The procedure typically only takes a few hours, but may take longer depending on what type of reconstruction a woman has opted to get. Some women decide to have their breasts reconstructed and have implants put in right after the mastectomy, while others don’t have reconstruction at all.
When a woman decides to have a mastectomy, several factors go into that decision. Among things to consider is whether to have breast-conserving surgery such as a lumpectomy. These decisions should be made alongside your doctor by openly and candidly discussing risks vs. benefits.
“A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removing of the tissue,” Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, previously told SurvivorNet.
“The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has.”
WATCH: Understanding a double mastectomy.
Dr. Port notes that these days, most women do opt to have some sort of reconstruction. The length of these surgeries can vary a great deal. When implants are used, the procedure can take two to three hours (so the total surgery time would be around five hours). There is also the option to take one’s own tissue (usually from the belly area) and transfer it into the breast area but this is a much longer procedure.
“When you take tissue from another part of the body and transfer it to fill in the empty space where the breasts are, this is a very long operation,” Dr. Port says. “It can take anywhere from six to 12 hours because it’s really like having a tummy tuck and then transferring the tissue and grafting the tissue, connecting the vessels, so those tissues have blood flow to live in.”
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Other factors that weigh into the decision to get a mastectomy are the size and features of the tumor and your family history. However, the gravity of your decision comes into full view, especially if you choose to get a mastectomy and remove both of your breasts.
The benefits of a prophylactic or preventative surgery are:
- Significant reduction in cancer risk (from 80-90% to 1-2%)
- Nipples can often be spared
- Women can get reconstruction at the same time
- What Goes into Deciding to Get a Mastectomy?
Coping With Your New Body After Cancer Treatment
Self-acceptance is an essential part of living with cancer, regardless of the severity of the disease, but many women say it is possible to retrain your brain and how we look at our bodies as a whole.
“Femininity is a state of mind,” celebrity stylist Ann Caruso told SurvivorNet in a prior interview. “Society has us thinking that our breasts are what makes us sexy. You know, there are so many other things. There’s touch, there’s our eyes a glance, the way we speak. It’s the curve of our body, it’s the way that we think. There are so many special things about being a woman.”
Body image, sex and adjusting to a ‘new normal’ after cancer
Cancer survivors often struggle with the changes others can see, whether temporary of permanent, like scarring, hair loss and weight gain. However, survivors also struggle with changes that may not be as obvious, such as infertility, and these can create body image issues and make survivors feel vulnerable.
One way to prepare yourself for possible body changes during cancer treatment is to understand that changes are possible but also, frequently temporary. This can also help build up your self-confidence. Your support group, filled with loved ones, can help you during this stage of your journey as well.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin shared some tips cancer survivors can explore to help manage the emotional toll body changes can have during treatment.
Dr. Strongin encourages survivors to take ownership of the part (or parts) of their body impacted mainly by cancer treatment. She says although they may represent “fear and pain,” they also represent “strength and courage.”
Regaining your sense of self after reconstruction
“Research has found that when looking in the mirror, we are more likely to focus on the parts of our body we are dissatisfied with, which causes us to have a negative self-view and lower self-esteem. Therefore, I would like you first to spend time gazing at the parts of your body you love, give them time, honor them, and then thank them,” Dr. Strongin said.
Dr. Strongin then suggests looking at the part or parts of your body impacted by the cancer or cancer treatment. She recommends creating a regular practice of accepting your body image because it helps you accept your cancer journey emotionally and physically.
“As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body. It may not happen immediately, but with time, you can begin honoring and thanking your new body,” Dr. Strongin added.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you’re facing the option of having a mastectomy, here are some questions to consider asking your doctor:
- What can I do to prepare for a double mastectomy?
- What happens before and after the procedure?
- For reconstruction, what are the benefits of using implants over my own tissue and vice versa?
- What should I know about implants? Should I opt for preventative surgery?
- What will recovery look like after the procedure?
- What are the benefits of a watch & wait approach vs. preventative surgery?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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