Elly Mayday strips for the camera while detailing insecurities about her body

A plus-size pin-up star who lost her hair during chemotherapy has revealed why she chose to share details about her battle with ovarian cancer with the world, while stripping down to her underwear to show that she is still proud of the body that has brought her 'through hell and back'.

Canadian model Elly Mayday, 27, shed her layers of clothes and wiped her face clean of make-up as the latest participant of StyleLikeU's video series, The What's Underneath Project, in which a select group of individuals are asked to remove their clothes to show that style is really about knowing who you are and being comfortable in your own skin.

'I think people think that I have it all together - that I have made cancer look easy,' Elly says of the way in which the public perceived her struggle with the disease. 'I've had people say pretty terrible things on social media like that I was making money off of cancer.'

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Brave fight: Elly Mayday, 27, tearfully recalls being diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer for StyleLikeU's video series, The What's Underneath Project

Baring it all: The Canadian plus-size model stripped down to her bra and underwear to help promote positive body image as a part of the video campaign's message

Elly says in the video that she was a 25-year-old flight attendant who was working as a size 14 pin-up model on the side when she started to notice lower back pain.

The model, who went on to star in Lane Bryant's I’m No Angel lingerie campaign, recalls doctors assuming her ailment was connected to her weight, which was 185lbs at the time, and advised her to 'work out her core'.

Elly breaks down in tears as she describes who she struggled to get doctors to take her symptoms seriously.

'I felt stupid for a really long time going into the emergency room and someone just saying, "What do you want us to do for you?" and giving me painkillers and sending me home,' she says.

'How dare you think that I'm not aware of my body enough to tell you that there's something wrong,' she adds angrily.

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Stripping down: Elly says a popular misconception about her on social media is that she 'has it all together' and has had made 'cancer look easy'

Elly's persistence led her to be diagnosed with stage three cancer, and she underwent a full hysterectomy.

'People say: "Oh thank God, they caught it." They didn't catch it at all. I did,' she notes. 'If I had listened to them I would be dead.'

When Elly was diagnosed with cancer, she had 30,000 Instagram followers, and she decided to use her story to help others who were dealing with similar issues - whether it be disease or body image.

Elly, who refused to let her diagnosis stop her from modeling, proudly posed in lingerie without any hair - and she says her goal of raising awareness for ovarian cancer and body positivity kept her motivated during the fight for her life.

'It was a reason for me to wake up and post a photo and get this positive feedback,' she notes. '[I] have other girls say: "I'm bald too. I have Alopecia, I have Trichotillomania, I have all of these things that make me feel insecure. But I see you up there with these scars and this bald head and you look absolutely stunning."'

Always beautiful: Elly, who continued to model even after she lost her hair during chemotherapy, says she posted pictures of herself during her battle with cancer because she wanted women to love their bodies

All clean: The model, who can be seen wiping off her make-up in the video, explains that she was 'fighting for her life and wanted to be real with it'

Fresh faced: Elly says if she was given the choice, she would still choose her body - even if it had cancer - because she is happy with it

'I was fighting for my life, and I wanted to be real with it,' she adds.

Elly says her family was amazing after she learned her diagnosis, and she recalls how her father was devastated that he couldn't come see her and unknowingly shared her story with a millionaire who stopped by their family restaurant in Saskatchewan. The next time the kind stranger came in, he wrote Elly's father a 10,000 check so he could fly to see her.

And Elly has managed to stay positive throughout her battle. She explained that she dyed her hair teal to raise awareness for ovarian cancer, and she threw a 'No Period Party' and gave away all of her tampons after she had a hysterectomy.

'As luck is, I bought a huge pack of tampons the week before I had a full hysterectomy and would never have a period again in my life,' she says.

Elly goes on to say that before her surgery wrote down a great deal of messages because she wanted to make sure that everyone she cared about knew that she loved them.

Stunning insperiation: After the model's surgery and chemotherapy, Forever Yours Lingerie decided to shoot Elly with no hair - scars and all - for its 2014 campaign

Rising to fame: Elly went on to star in star in Lane Bryant's I’m No Angel lingerie campaign

'I feared not being able to tell them that,' she says tearfully.

And while she had a great deal of support, she recalls how horribly some people reacted on social media after she started losing weight because of the stress brought on by her disease.

Elly says people told her they weren't going to follow her anymore and chided her for losing all the weight after she scored a little bit of fame.

She remembers thinking: 'Are you f**king me?'

'The people who first joined my page were following this bodacious curvy blonde bombshell type chick, and then I am this bald, scarred, thin girl,' she says of how her body changed physically after her diagnosis. 'I really realized that your glow comes from within.'

New look: The model recently took to her Instagram page to reveal that she dyed her hair a rich brunette

Marilyn Monroe look-alike: Elly says her battle with cancer made her realize that 'your glow comes from in'

Side job: Elly worked as a flight attendant and a pin-up model before she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 25-years-old

Elly adds: 'I will always be me no matter what. Whatever weight I am, it doesn't matter. I just want to be healthy.

Although she says cancer has turned into a 'warrior', she says she still feels vulnerable when she goes to the doctor's office.

Elly explains that she is 'sitting on edge' all of the time because her cancer can easily return.

'The walk down the hallway never gets easier,' she says of her necessary check-ups.

Ultimately, Elly maintains that she is glad that was public because has raised awareness and quite possibly saved someone's life - and she is still dedicated to promoting a healthy body image.

'My body has brought me through hell and back,' she says. 'I would choose this body again even if it had cancer because it is mine and I'm happy with it.'

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Jenniffer Sheldon

Update: 2024-09-25

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