Health
Beauty influencer dies at 36 from uterine cancer after misdiagnosis
In her July 31, 2023 post, which was her first in nine months, Jessica Pettway shared a couple of selfies while discussing her health crisis with her followers
March 20, 2024 11:22am
Updated: March 21, 2024 10:36am
Beauty influencer Jessica Pettway died last Wednesday at age 36 from complications of stage 3 cervical cancer.
Her sister Reyni announced the fatal news on Friday on her Instagram account: “Today is my birthday and the only thing I could wish for is that God would bring you back to this earth. I lost my beautiful older sister 2 days ago and my heart had never felt pain like this.”
The media E! Online reported that Reyni remembered her sister as “amazing, strong, confident” and someone “with so much wisdom, prayed for me and helped me become a better mother.”
Perrway's death comes nearly nine months after she first revealed her cancer diagnosis in an Instagram post to her thousands of followers.
“I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I don't even know where to start, but I want to share why I've been away for so long, in the hopes that at least one person will be encouraged by my story,” she wrote in July 2023.
The woman began by talking about an episode of “heavy vaginal bleeding” in June 2022. She spoke to other women and was led to believe that it was completely “normal.”
“On July 1, 2022 at 4:00 a.m., my husband found me in the bathroom unresponsive and not breathing. He had literally passed away,” he continued.
She was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with fibroids, described by the Mayo Clinic as “common growths of the uterus” that “are not cancer, and almost never become cancer.”
The bleeding stopped after being treated as fibroids, but in early January 2023 the bleeding returned.
After undergoing 10 blood transfusions, doctors recommended she make an appointment with an oncologist and undergo a biopsy.
“On February 8, 2023, I had an outpatient biopsy,” Pettway said. "When I woke up from the anesthesia, he casually said, 'Yes, you have stage 3 cervical cancer.' Turns out it wasn't a fibroid, but cancer. “I was misdiagnosed this whole time.”
“I remember hearing that and immediately saying to myself, 'I refuse to come to terms with that diagnosis.' And then I didn't. Being told that I have cancer did not devastate me, but the reaction of those close to me did,” she added.
After a long bitter and painful struggle, the adored influencer lost her life last week.
Pettway, who called herself “The Bohemian of Compton,” is survived by her husband of 12 years, Michael, and daughters Kailee, 10, and Zoi Lee, 3.
