“Bad PR”: Ex–Victoria’s Secret Model Battling Cancer Reveals She Was Rejected From This Year’s Show

Balti was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer on September 8, 2024. She disclosed the news in an Instagram post that read :

“Last Sunday, I checked myself into the ER to find out that my lower abdominal pain was stage 3C ovarian cancer.”

“It’s been a week full of fear, pain and tears but mostly love, hope, laughter and strength.”

“I have a long journey ahead, but I know I will beat this,” she said next to an image of herself in a hospital bed.

A post shared by CAMILLA AND MARC (@camillaandmarc)

But doctors realized that she was prone to the illness in 2022 already, when they discovered the BRCA1 gene, which more often than not leads to cancer in women.

In a bid to preempt it in Balti, they performed a prophylactic mastectomy (an operation in which breast tissue is removed).

“I was terrified. I didn’t know what removing my breast tissue would mean for my appearance or my career. But I had to do it anyway,” she recalled.

“My aunt had [passed away] young from metastatic breast cancer , and I wanted to live.”

“More than that — I wanted to set an example for my daughters, who might one day face the same decision.”