Swimsuit

4 Powerful Photos of Swim Search Finalist Kelly Crump in the Dominican Republic

The Stage 4 breast cancer ‘thriver’ is changing the narrative of what it means to be a survivor.

Ananya Panchal

Kelly Crump.

Kelly Crump.

Kelly Crump made her SI Swimsuit debut as a Swim Search open casting call finalist last year. The Stage 4 breast cancer survivor, or as she likes to say “thriver,” was photographed by Yu Tsai in the Dominican Republic for the issue. She uses her platform to spread positivity and change the narrative about what it means to be a survivor—by raising awareness and not letting cancer define her or the way she lives her life.

Crump, who lives in London, was diagnosed with cancer when she was 38. She had the tumor removed within five days and began chemo five days after that.

“Looking back, I was in such shock that, just like with any other trauma or hardship in someone’s life, you’re getting through and there’s no kind of emotion there. It’s fight or flight, and I [choose] fight. I’m the person that goes after the lion,” Crump recalled. “We need to be talking, normalizing and feeling comfortable if someone has cancer so that we can support them mentally, physically, what have you, but also so we know how to deal with it. And we have a platform now to talk openly about so many different issues going on in the world, and this is just another one of them.”

Below are four of our favorite photos from her 2022 SI Swimsuit photoshoot.

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Ananya Panchal

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast.