14 DAY TRIAL // Eva Ekvall, crowned Miss Venezuela in 2000 when she was just 17, and one of the country's most active campaigners for cancer awareness, has lost the battle with the disease. She was only 28 years old.
Eva is survived by her parents and brothers, but also by her husband and daughter. She was diagnosed with advanced cancer at the beginning of last year, the Daily Mail informs.
By that time, she'd already built for herself a successful career as an anchorwoman.
When she heard the diagnosis, Eva decided to turn things around and, if possible, spin her own case in such a way as to help other women in the same situation.
She became the most active campaigner for cancer awareness in the country, even writing a book about her journey and pulling all the stops to make breast cancer less of a taboo.
“I was very angry because I should have known. My aunt had breast cancer twice and my grandmother died from breast cancer. And I just let time go,” she said after she learned the sad news.
She never lost hope, though. Her experience with cancer was documented in the book “Fuera de Foco” (“Out of Focus”), which also included never before seen photos of the once gorgeous model, now pale, hairless and thin.
“The pictures were very shocking because nobody had ever seen me that way. Nobody had seen me bald, without make-up,” she said at the time.
“In the beginning I wasn't sure if I looked good or not. Then I realized that wasn't the point. I wasn't supposed to look good, I had cancer,” she added.
Eva is credited with literally paving the way for an open dialogue on cancer, while her example has inspired many other women to continue fighting the disease and, more importantly, to get regular checkups to prevent it by early diagnosis.