Elly Mayday grew up in Aylesbury, Sask., about 60 kilometres north of Moose Jaw. In 2013, her modelling career took flight.
“At that time, I was working as a flight attendant, but then I was offered a few contracts from the United States and everything kind of just took off,” she said.
Mayday started out as a pin up model, but soon appeared in shows and advertisements in New York and Australia. Her career went viral online with thousands of followers, but suddenly her life took a turn.
“The diagnosis of Stage Three Ovarian Cancer really shook my life,” Mayday said.
In 2013, at the age of 25 she was given the news and immediately started treatment. The plus-sized model lost her hair, went through three months of chemotherapy and five operations, including a recovery operation most recently in March.
“I’m six weeks out of an operation, but happy to be here in more ways than one,” she laughed.
All the while, Mayday has continued to model and inspire others. She signed autographs for her fans at Sunday’s Modern Woman show at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon. For a fourth straight year, she has also collected money from her calendar sales, raising more than $2,000 for Ovarian Cancer Canada.
“I thought well maybe I can make this a really positive experience, not only for myself, but for other people who may be going through something similar,” she said.
Mayday spoke at Sunday’s event to a crowd of people. For them, she had just one simple message.
“All our time is limited,” she said. “I encourage you to live your life in any way you want.”
