Linda Evangelista reveals 2018 breast cancer diagnosis: 'I have one foot in the grave'

Supermodel Linda Evangelista has previously been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she's opening up about the experience publicly for the first time.

Evangelista, 58, revealed her diagnosis in an interview with WSJ Magazine published Tuesday, noting that she found out in December 2018 during her 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. Thinking I was good and set for life," she said. "Breast cancer was not going to kill me."

In July 2022, Evangelista discovered another lump in her chest. The supermodel saw multiple doctors who assured her she had nothing to worry about, but she requested an MRI as an extra precaution. The MRI went on to reveal cancer in her pectoral muscle.

Evangelista recalled telling her surgeon she was not concerned about the cosmetic look of the procedure. "Dig a hole in my chest," she said she told her doctor. "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."

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"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," she continued.

Since then, Evangelista has been told her prognosis is good but "not 'great'" like she hoped to hear. The supermodel revealed she has a "a horrible oncotype score," meaning her risk of cancer returning is higher.

"I know I have one foot in the grave, but I'm totally in celebration mode," she said of currently being cancer-free.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Linda Evangelista breast cancer: Model reveals diagnosis, mastectomy