Elly Mayday, the positive body model has lost battle to ovarian cancer aged 30 years old nearly six years after she was diagnosed with the disease. It took three years for the Canadian born star, whose given name is Ashley Luther, to be diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 2013, and she became an advocate for raising awareness for the disease.
Instead of stepping away from the spotlight, Elly spoke openly about her struggles and proudly showed off the cancer surgery scars on her stomach in both personal social media photos and professional shoots.
At the time of her diagnosis, she had two modeling contracts offered to her, and she quit her job as a flight attendant to start working as a professional model. Elly saw modeling as an opportunity to help others who are battling ovarian cancer and show them that they are still beautiful.
She spent the final eight months of her life in hospital and set about helping others suffering from cancer, by sharing her story in a succession of detailed social media posts.
Days before her passing, Elly shared how lucky she felt for having the modelling career that she had and was taking comfort that her journey could help others in the future.