Linda Evangelista's friend made her feel "beautiful" when she showed her mastectomy scars for the first time

Speaking at the Facing the Pressures to Look Youthful during Shiseido's Potential Has No Age Summit alongside Jenna, Linda explained: "Jenna was there that day.

"We brought her into the pictures, but when I was changing, they asked me, 'Can we see your ...' I don't know what you said, if it was my chest or my whatever.

"I have had a double mastectomy and I had never shown anyone besides my family."

Linda explained Jenna told her the scars were "so beautiful" and it convinced her to show them in the shoot, posing in a denim jacket left open to reveal her chest.

The catwalk star added she needed the reassurance from her pal, saying: "I should have known myself, looking in the mirror. Something I don't love to do, but I should have known that it is beautiful. And they made me feel beautiful.

"I'm beautiful, but I needed to hear it from someone else. So I just really think it's important that as women, we support each other and uplift each other. I think we're all in this together."

Linda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and underwent a double mastectomy, but the cancer returned several years later and she underwent chemotherapy as she battled the disease once again.

During an appearance on TV show 'The View', Linda said of her cancer fight: "Everybody's story's going to be nuanced. And mine ended up being: 'Well just get it out and give you some radiation.'

"But I had a really bad oncotype score. It's a score that tells you your probability of getting the cancer again. They take into account many, many things including genetics. But mine was bad.

"I had to have chemo - I'm on fantastic meds for five years ... They're horrible. They're hormone suppressors. They make you feel old."

However, Linda went on to insist she plans to "get really, really old" and she's now proud of her scars.

She added: "I'm okay with scars. I think scars are trophies. I'm good with scars."