Breast cancer is still a leading cause of death for women of all ages. This time, the disease claimed the life of a world-famous Latin beauty queen named Eva Ekvall. Sadly, the model who chose to use her star power so wisely to promote breast cancer awareness to the general public was only age 28 when the insidious illness took her young life.
Latin beauty queen Eva Ekvall died from breast cancer on December 17th after an unsuccessful battle to save her life with the help of doctors and cancer treatment experts in the United States. The former Miss Venezuela turned actress, news anchor, and author died that Saturday after showing her family and friends she bore the final days of her illness with both poise and grace.
She demonstrated, “extraordinary calm and courage in her fight against cancer”, writer Leonardo Padron told Globovision news when talking about her life and sad celebrity death. Padron did not confirm whether her body would be sent back from Houston to Venezuela or whether or not she might be cremated in the United States.
The former beauty queen and Latin icon used her star power wisely in her final days. She wrote a book after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year then used her public profile as an international celebrity to help raise public awareness about the disease.
In her home country of Venezuela, “we invest a lot of money in looking beautiful and not in health care,” the former model and pageant winner candidly revealed.
“There’s a huge taboo around breast cancer. But in this country people get their boobs done every day, so I don’t understand how breast cancer can be a problem when everybody’s showing their breasts.”
The Sydney Morning Herald further shared, “Collaborating with well-known photographer Roberto Mata, Ekvall chronicled her fight against cancer in the book Fuera de Foco (Out of Focus).”According to one international news source (The Guardian UK):
The book, Fuera de Foco (Out of Focus), chronicles the former Miss Venezuela’s battle with breast cancer, a gruelling eight-month regime of chemotherapy, radiation and mastectomy.
It has broken taboos about female beauty and moved breasts from the realm of aesthetics to that of health and disease.
“The pictures were very shocking because nobody had ever seen me that way. Nobody had seen me bald, without makeup,” said Ekvall, now recovered and sporting gamine-style short hair. “So I knew they would be shocking.”
The Guardian UK then said, “The 28-year-old Miss Universe finalist has become an outspoken advocate for a cancer awareness group, SenosAyuda, and is credited with a reported surge in women seeking breast examinations.”She will be missed by the green celebrity community and we honor her for her humanitarian efforts here at Green Celebrity Network.