Influencer Jessica Pettway has died aged 36 after battling stage 3 cervical cancer, according to her sister Reyni's announcement on Instagram Friday. Pettway's death comes nine months after she revealed her cancer diagnosis in an Instagram post.
Reyni, Pettway's sister, whose private account confirmed the death of her sister on March 15, opened up about the grief she felt in a post, as reported by E! News. "It's my birthday today, and the only thing I could ever wish for is for God to bring you back on this earth," Reyni said. "I lost my beautiful big sister 2 days ago, and my heart has never felt pain like this."
Fight with Cancer Ends
The YouTube personality, who was married to Michael for 12 years, was a mother to two daughters, Kailee, 10, and Zoi Lee, three, as reported by Essence. Pettway bravely shared her struggle with the deadly disease and revealed being misdiagnosed in a July 2023 Instagram post.
In her July 31, 2023 post, her first in nine months on the platform, Pettway shared a couple of selfies while candidly discussing her health crisis with her followers.
"I took these photos a few days ago, and it's currently my favorite photo of myself," Pettway said. "It brings me so much joy to see how far I've come, because a few months ago I received devastating news.
"I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I don't even know where to begin, but I want to share why I've been gone for so long, in hopes that at least one person is encouraged by my story."
Pettway revealed that, at first, she had been misdiagnosed with fibroids, which the Mayo Clinic describes as common growths occurring in the uterus.
"Uterine fibroids are not cancer, and they almost never turn into cancer," nor are they "linked with a higher risk of other types of cancer in the uterus either," according to the Mayo Clinic.
Losing a Tough Battle
Pettway revealed that she sought medical attention after dealing with "intense vaginal bleeding" in June 2022. Despite receiving a similar diagnosis over the following seven months, she persisted until she consulted an oncologist for an examination on February 8, 2023.
"He performed an out patient biopsy on me," she said, adding, "When I woke up from the anesthesia, he casually said, "Yep you have stage 3 cervical cancer." It turns out, it was not a fibroid, but cancer. I was misdiagnosed all this time.
"I remember hearing that and immediately saying to myself, "I refuse to make an agreement with that diagnosis." And so I didn't."
In her post announcing her sister's death, Reyni shared a childhood photo of herself with Jessica, describing her late sibling as "amazing," "strong," "confident," and a supportive presence who "helped [her] become a better mother."
Over the past decade, Pettway had established herself as a formidable presence on social media, garnering a substantial following on YouTube, with over 228,000 subscribers and 441 videos on her channel, which she launched in November 2013.
Pettway also amassed a following of over 151,000 followers on Instagram, where she branded herself as 'The Compton Bohemian,' offering digital content in the realms of style, lifestyle, and beauty.
