As gorgeous mum, model and Miss Universe New Zealand runner-up Larissa Allen sits down for a morning cuppa in her Papamoa Beach home, she looks naturally radiant and relaxed, seemingly with not a care in the world.
But just a mere few weeks after a wild weekend on the Gold Coast promoting body positivity with Married At First Sight Australia star Jules Robinson, Larissa’s life took an unimaginable turn. The talented model, actress and film producer was devastated to be diagnosed with grade 3 metaplastic breast cancer – a rare and aggressive type of cancer – at just 31 years old.
It’s a bitter blow to what has otherwise been an incredible 18 months for the Bay of Plenty beauty. Not only was she handpicked by Jules as an ambassador for her sexy new shapewear line “FIGUR by Jules”, she’d also fallen in love with her handsome new boyfriend Chris Power, dropped a staggering 30 kilograms and was living life to the full with her four-year-old son Carter, whom she co-parents with her ex-husband.
Boyfriend Chris is the star’s rock.
“Finding out I have cancer has been completely over-whelming,” says Larissa. “It just doesn’t make sense. Here I am, the fittest, healthiest version of me that I’ve ever been after losing weight and I’m in the best place mentally. Then I get hit with this. All thoughts are going through my head – will my life be cut short? Will I lose a breast? How will I explain this to Carter?”
Chris found a small lump on her left breast in May and encouraged Larissa to get it checked out. Feeling fantastic with her revamped life, body and career, Larissa dismissed the lump as a blocked milk duct, having breastfed Carter when he was a baby.
“I was very blasé about it and busy with various work projects, so I didn’t get around to making an appointment with my GP until July,” she says. “Straightaway, she sent an urgent referral to radiology for an ultrasound. At the appointment two weeks later, I realised it was serious, even though the staff were outwardly optimistic. An interesting thing about acting is that you are really in touch with social cues and how people are feeling, and I could tell something was wrong.”
Unfortunately, Larissa’s sixth sense was correct. While her specific treatment plan to kick the cancer is still being confirmed by a team of specialists at Tauranga Hospital, she does know it involves a gruelling combination of surgery and chemotherapy.
“The hardest part was waiting to find out what type of breast cancer I have,” she recalls. “It was a blessing to finally know, but at the same time brutal to hear that it was more than just your stock-standard breast cancer. It is rare and aggressive.”
A mastectomy is likely for the stunning shapewear model and doctors have encouraged Larissa to get tested for the BRCA gene. If she tests positive, a double mastectomy and an oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) may be necessary to prevent the cancer from spreading.
The mum-of-one is facing every part of her treatment with a positive energy.
But this possibility is not something the bubbly blue-eyed blonde will dwell on. Asa devoted advocate and role model for body positivity for women all over Australasia, Larissa will call upon the lessons she learnt from Jules and her passion for body acceptance and self-love.
“I’m going to love my body now more than ever,” she says assuredly. “Having to come to terms with the fact that I’ll lose my breast – maybe even both breasts – and lose my hair and ovaries is incredibly hard. People don’t realise the impact that has on a woman, to lose those feminine parts of you. It makes me tear up just thinking about it, but I know I need to prepare myself and, thankfully, I have learned the tools to love my body through anything.
“Post-natal depression and an unhappy marriage had wreaked havoc on my body and self-esteem, and I had put on so much weight. Then, through FIGUR and Jules, I had learnt to be kind to myself again. I never made a conscious decision to lose weight, but last year I went from a size 14 to a size eight with just regular exercise and eating a bit healthier. It just goes to show how changing your mindset really can change your life.”
With role model Jules, who taught Larissa “to be kind to myself”.
Larissa’s determined mind – as well as the love and support of her boys Chris and Carter – are what will get her through the next few months of MRIs, invasive tests, chemo and surgery.
“If this happened when I had depression or when my ex left me, I wouldn’t have had a fighting chance,” she declares. “But I’m in a great place now and I believe the universe provides you with things at the right time.
“I can handle it now because I’m strong and I’ve got Chris, as well as an amazing support crew in my friends and family.”
