Bernardo Marziani dead at 20: Young Italian model dies after heartbreaking battle with bone cancer
ITALIAN model Bernardo Marziani has died aged just 20 after he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
The young man passed away on Friday after a two-year battle with Ewing sarcoma.
Marziani shared his cancer struggles with thousands of followers on social media.
He recently told them: “This tumour, Ewing sarcoma, was diagnosed two years ago, in 2022, located in my left leg, with excruciating pain that kept getting worse until my leg ‘died’ and that’s when they found it.
“I went through all the chemo in the protocol, preparing for surgery, but just before the operation, I developed metastases, so they had to change the treatment.
“It’s like the disease became chronic and just needed to be kept under control.”
Ewing sarcoma most commonly affects people aged between 10 and 20 years old.
It usually develops in the pelvic bone, thigh bone and shin bone, but can also be found in the soft tissues surrounding the bone or joint.
Marziani shared advice on his social media for other people suffering from cancer – for example telling followers that he used a cold cap during chemotherapy to limit hair loss.
He also opened up about his own symptoms and struggles.
The young model was the son of journalist and writer Elena Martelli and art critic Gianluca Marziani.
He lived between Rome and Amsterdam, where he was studying anthropology.
His health took a turn for the worse in January, NeedToKnow reports.
He said in a video: “Until January in Amsterdam, everything was fine, except for some leg problems that were resolved with radiotherapy.
“But then a pleural effusion was underestimated, which devastated me.
“It was caused by the progression of the tumour to my lung, due to a failed chemo.
“Until then, I had never shown symptoms and seeing myself sick was tough.
“I was hospitalised for a week because of the effusion, and recently I had two very intense ‘red devil chemos’ but now I’m doing much better compared to two months ago.”