Former Miss Venezuela succumbs to cancer at 28

Former Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall died in Houston after fighting breast cancer since last year, her representatives said. She was 28.

Former Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall died in Houston after fighting breast cancer since last year, her representatives said. She was 28.

"Sadly, cancer had the last word," writer Leonardo Padron told Globovision.

Ekvall, an actress and news anchor, died Saturday after "demonstrating extraordinary calm and courage in her fight against cancer," Padron said, without confirming whether the body would be sent home to Venezuela.

The former beauty queen wrote a book after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year and tried to raise awareness of the disease.

"Now I know what it feels like to not have a hair on your head," she said in a Twitter posting March 10.

In Venezuela, "we invest a lot of money in looking beautiful and not in health care", the former model said.

Well-known photographer Roberto Mata worked with Ekvall to chronicle her fight against cancer in the book Fuera de Foco.