Enjoying Life After Cancer
- Supermodel Linda Evangelista and two-time breast cancer survivor, 59, is thriving after battling disease and recently took part in an annual tomato sauce tradition with her loved ones.
- 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.
- After cancer and other health challenges, experts suggest working on their mental health with positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on encouraging patients to feel positive and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives. According to psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman, the three wellsprings of vitality are connecting with others, contribution, or adding value to the lives of others, and feeling challenged.
- Experts recommend anyone facing cancer should make sure they continue to prioritize their overall well-being and do the things that they love. It can help fuel a positive attitude.
- While there is some disagreement about the exact age a woman should start getting mammograms, doctors generally agree it should happen in their 40s. The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should begin annual mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
- However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives
We love seeing Evangelista, who previously endured unexpected changes to her body after undergoing a cosmetic procedure called CoolSculpting [often described as an alternative to liposuction], thriving after breast cancer and making new memories with loved ones. It’s something many cancer warriors can look up to as support is incredibly powerful during and after a health struggle.
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The first photo featured in the mom of one’s compilation of images, including one video, from that fun-filled day back in August, Evangelista is seen looking at ease with her hair tied back.
Other images showed a huge basil plant, cherry tomatoes cooking in a pot, tomato sauce being poured into mason jars, friends and family members gathered together around in what appears to be someone’s backyard, and one woman holding two cherry tomatoes together, creating a heart shape.
Prepping jars of tomato sauce in mason jars appears to be a tradition the five-foot-ten model and her family have held strong since she was a young girl, something she revealed in a Father’s Day post earlier this year.
Alongside a photo of her younger, smiling self, holding what seems to be two large beefsteak tomatoes, surrounded by buckets of a variety of tomatoes, Evangelista writes, “My father’s pride and joy was his garden. I’m pretty sure he was proud of my ‘tomato stick’ legs as he called them and for sure my nose which I inherited from him.
“He had the most insane green thumb. Here examples of his basil and figs he managed to grow in Canada. He was also able to graft branches onto trees enabling him to grow 2 different fruits [red and green apples] on one tree.”
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She continued, “The fruits of his labour were then canned, frozen, pickled or turned into some type of grappa. All these memories will forever bring me joy. Happy Father’s Day to all those celebrating.”
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.”
Expert Breast Cancer Resources
- How To Reduce the Risk Of A Breast Cancer Recurrence
- What Happens During a Double Mastectomy?
- I Have Dense Breasts. Do I Need a 3D Mammogram?
- Breast Cancer: Introduction to Prevention & Screening
- How to Avoid False Positive Cancer Results in Women With Dense Breasts: Ultrasounds Used in Addition To Mammograms
- Mammograms Are Still the Best Tool for Detecting Breast Cancer — A Warning About Thermography
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.”
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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.”
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.'”
Thriving After Cancer: Finding Vitality and the ‘Pathway’ to Resilience
Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests that people working on their mental health practice positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on encouraging patients to feel positive and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives, like how Evangelista enjoys making tomato sauce with her family and friends.
Dr. Boardman explains them as “pathways to embrace your everyday resilience.” In other words, these are tools people who may be struggling with mental health issues can embrace to help maintain a certain sense of positivity. And those positive feelings can go a long way when people are facing a health challenge like a cancer diagnosis.
According to Dr. Boardman, these three wellsprings of vitality are:
- Connecting. This involves how you’re connecting with others and having meaningful interactions. It involves being a good listener and being engaged with the people around you who you care about.
- Contribution. How are you adding value to the people around you? Are you helping them in ways that feel meaningful to them? This entails contributing/engaging with others in a meaningful way.
- Feeling challenged. Being “positively challenged” could involve learning something new (perhaps by taking a new class or reading an interesting book) and expanding your mind in some way.
“Those are the cores of vitality and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Finding Joy During & After Cancer
When faced with a cancer battle, whether you’re an adult or a child, it can be difficult to focus on life outside of your disease. However, it’s important to remember that your mental state can actually impact your success as a patient.
“I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patients are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease,” Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet. “And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology, also advocates for cancer warriors to prioritize their mental health. She noted that emotional well-being has been studied as a factor in patient outcomes.
“We know from good studies that emotional health is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better outcomes,” Dr. Chase told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
“So, working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment [and] your emotional well-being are important and can impact your survival. If that’s related to what activities you do that bring you joy, then you should try to do more of those activities.”
According to Dr. Chase says doing things that bring you joy is important, and there’s no right or wrong ways to do so. Paying attention to your emotional health could look like spending time with friends and dancing. Others might turn to painting, writing, watching movies, or playing sports.
Dr. Chase recommends writing down ten things that make you happy and intentionally making the time to do those activities throughout the day.
What Still Brings You Joy? Your Emotional Health is So Important to Living with Ovarian Cancer
“Sometimes I will talk to a patient about making [a] list of the top ten things that bring them joy,” Chase says. “And trying to do those ten things, to make at least 50 percent of their experiences positive throughout the day.”
“Sometimes I will talk to a patient about making [a] list of the top ten things that bring them joy,” she continues. “And trying to do those ten things, to make at least 50 percent of their experiences positive throughout the day.”
The Importance of Breast Cancer Screening
Screening for breast cancer is normally done through a mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer.
While there is some disagreement about the exact age a woman should start getting mammograms, doctors generally agree it should happen in their 40s.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should begin annual mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now says that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives.
WATCH: Mammograms are still the best tool for detecting breast cancer.
The ACS also advises:
- Women aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year
- Women aged 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year
- Women aged 55 and older could also choose to continue yearly mammograms
For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer such as a BRCA gene mutation or a medical history including chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.
Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.
Don’t delay speaking with your doctor to make sure you are staying on top of your breast health.
It’s Very Important to Connect: A Survivor’s Advice For Getting Through Cancer
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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