A 35-year-old former beauty queen tragically died from a pulmonary embolism.
Nabila Furtado had been admitted to the facility two and a half months ago due to a case of thrombosis that had affected her arm and shoulder.
She left the hospital in early April and continued with home treatment.
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But in the early hours of Tuesday (22 Apr), she was rehospitalised in Cariacica, north east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with shortness of breath.
Furtado’s thrombosis stemmed from breast cancer, which she had been diagnosed with during a routine consultation.
Doctors were unable to save her.
Her husband of 11 years, former Cariacica mayor Juninho Geraldo, said: “Nabila discovered she had an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2020, while I was still mayor.
“She underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and received treatment both in Espírito Santo and in São Paulo, but the cancer kept spreading.
“By March, it had spread near her shoulder and caused the thrombosis.
“We stayed in the hospital for a month and, at the beginning of April, went home with all the necessary hospital equipment to care for her.
“Her blood vessels had become blocked, and she was in a lot of pain.
“At the hospital, they managed to ease the pain, and she returned home, where she stayed for three weeks.
“But then, during the early hours, she had extreme difficulty breathing.
“That’s when we took her back to the hospital, and by then, everything was already compromised.
“It was very hard for me because she didn’t want anyone to know about the cancer-not even her own parents.”
Furtado began modelling when she was 16 and went on to win several beauty pageants throughout her life, as reported by Need To Know.
She represented Brazil at the Mrs Glam World pageant in India in 2022 and at another international contest in Spain.
She was also crowned Miss Espírito Santo Intercontinental, Miss Cariacica 2009, Miss Brasil Queen 2016, Miss Congeniality at Miss ES 2020, and Musa do Brasil 2013.
More recently, she had grown a five-figure social media following as a fashion influencer.
Geraldo said, “She lost her hair, was wearing a prosthesis, and people had no idea what a warrior she was.”
Furtado was laid to rest in Cariacica yesterday (23 Apr).
Her husband said, “She loved what she did. Her life was about not showing people the bad side of things.
“She was always focused on trying to help others and was full of joy.”
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