Former model with rare growth disease dies

This photo provided by Tina Valle shows Tanya Angus before contracting her growth disease, in 1999. As a teenager growing up in Las Vegas, Angus strutted along fashion runways as a model. She was 5 feet 8 inches tall. But at the time of her death, Jan. 14, 2013, the 34-year-old Angus stood 7 feet 2 inches and weighed about 400 pounds. She was a victim of a rare disorder called acromegaly that wouldn't let her stop growing. In children the condition is known as gigantism.

This undated personal photo provided by Tina Valle, Tanya's godmother, shows Tanya Angus after contracting her growth disease. Acromegaly is a disorder in which there is too much growth hormone in the body.

Valle operates a website dedicated to Tanya Angus' advocacy for acromegaly.

This undated personal photo shows Tanya Angus before contracting her growth disease.

"'Mom, I don't know why I got it,'" Karen Strutynski recalled her daughter Tanya saying. "'But I guess God decided that I could handle it.'"

This undated personal photo shows Tanya Angus after contracting her growth disease. Tanya turned her situation into advocacy, appearing on television specials and news programs to discuss her condition and chronic growing pains.

This undated personal photo shows Tanya Angus after developing the rare disorder acromegaly. Acromegaly is a disorder in which there is too much growth hormone in the body. It's spurred by a non-cancerous tumor that grows on the pituitary gland, and causes growth of bones and organs. Angus died after catching a cold and developing a tear in her heart.

Following television appearances, Angus corresponded with people from 60 countries to help them get the treatment they needed. She saw her mission as helping others get diagnosed before it was too late and the disease got out of control, her mother said. For more information on Tanya, please visit the website dedicated to her legacy.