Former Miss Universe says she was diagnosed with cancer after trip to the beauty salon
Margaret Gardiner, who won the Miss Universe title in 1978, has opened up about her two cancer battles and how a trip to the salon changed everything
Margaret Gardiner has shared the harrowing story of battling cancer twice, with one diagnosis traced back to what seemed like an ordinary salon visit. The 65-year-old, who won Miss Universe in 1978, said her health scare began with a facial that exposed a serious issue.
"A couple of years ago, maybe three or four, I went for a facial, which I usually don't go for, and they opened something, and it never healed. When I'd shower, it would start to bleed.
"...I was really, really lucky because even afterwards, you know, it just didn't heal. And so, I went back to [the salon] and I said, 'Can you zap this?' And she's like, 'Maybe you should go and speak to a skin specialist?' Usually, when it doesn't heal, that's a sign."
On further investigation, it was confirmed that what appeared to be a persistent sore was actually cancerous. These types of growths, often called ulcerating wounds, generally happen when a cancerous growth pushes through the skin's surface.
Margaret underwent surgery to remove the cancer, which left a noticeable half-centimetre-wide hole on her face. As a model with a very glamorous career, this ordeal flipped Margaret's life upside down, but she was thankful that medics found the cancer quickly.
"Luckily, the hole was only about half a centimetre big," Margaret said. "But actually, for a hole when you look in your face, that is quite big.
"They got a plastic surgeon to take my skin and pull it across, and so my nose is skew like that...They had [initially] told me that they were going to take my forehead and flip it over to cover the hole in my face, and that they would have to regrow the skin.
"So I was going to be horribly, horribly scarred. I'm so grateful for my skew, but you know, so I don't look like I did, but I'm really grateful for looking the way I do."
Unfortunately, this wasn't Margaret's first encounter with cancer. About 24 years ago, doctors discovered a sarcoma at the centre of her chest, which necessitated a lengthy 10-hour operation and subsequent skin graft.
The surgeries have left more than physical scars. Margaret admitted they've heavily impacted her mental health, leading her to avoid public spaces in the past.
However, she has since embraced her journey, participating in photo shoots, gracing magazine covers, and authoring books such as Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar, published in February.
"I think that you know, for women ageing and even young people, we're always looking at ourselves and saying, 'Oh, we wish we looked different'," she went on.
"But I think that what we've really got to start doing is look in the mirror and say, 'You are awesome, just who you are,' and start celebrating you. When the outside gets destroyed, your inside shines through.
"That's what will get you through the years." She later added: "You know, also from the book side, one of the things that it's examining is image.
"Image projected on you, image we take on ourselves, and what's going on behind the image. And, I think women in particular are framed by society to compromise who we are and meet an aesthetic and a standard that can tie us in knots.
"You know you have to be a lady, but you also have to be sexy, smart and strong, but if you're too strong, you're a b****. People want to put you on a pedestal, but then they look for your faults. In the world of modelling and beauty, and it's more apparent how this damages you.
"But in every industry, women daily are having to navigate, how to present themselves, so they are acceptable....We must have more and more of this conversation amongst women."