A 42-year-old model has won a beauty pageant after battling bowel cancer.
Renata Spallicci was diagnosed with the life-threatening condition during a routine examination.
She was hospitalised for 11 days and underwent an operation to save her life.
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This month (August) marks the first anniversary of what she called “the biggest scare of my life”.
Renata, who was a bodybuilder nine years ago, was crowned queen of the prestigious Águia de Ouro Samba School in São Paulo, Brazil, yesterday (4 August).
After her health ordeal, she called the win “a victory filled with gratitude and joy”.
Renata, who was diagnosed in 2023, said: “It was in 2015 that I competed in bodybuilding contests and made my first costumes for carnival events.
“I was 34 when I started bodybuilding, which is considered too old for the sport.
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“Returning to the carnival now as queen, healed and recovered, after overcoming countless health and personal challenges, is a victory filled with gratitude and joy.
“Every beat of the drums, every smile from the community, represents my new start to life and the celebration of a dream come true.”
Renata is also the vice president of a large pharmaceutical company that was founded by her grandparents over 50 years ago, as reported by What’s the Jam.
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With a degree in chemical engineering, she has worked at the company since 2003.
Renata divorced from her husband two months ago and is the proud ‘mother’ of 30 pets.
She added: “There are still many things I want to achieve.
“When I look back, I confess that I am very proud of what I have already done and how, through self-knowledge, I allowed myself to live as I wanted, regardless of other people’s opinions.”
“Renata, when she was 20 years old, would be very proud of Renata today at 42 years of age.”
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