Jessica Petway, a beauty influencer with over 16 million views on YouTube, has passed away at the age of 36.
Her death came about nine months after she revealed in an Instagram post that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer. Her sister, Raini, announced the news on Instagram on Friday. E! Online.
According to the media, Raini wrote under a photo of the two of them, “Today is my birthday and my only wish is that God calls you back to this earth. I lost my beautiful sister two days ago and I have never been more heartbroken.”
Jessica Pettway/Instagram
The outlet reported that Raini remembered her sister as “amazing, strong and confident” and someone who was “very smart, prayed for me and helped me to be a better mother.”
Petway joined YouTube in November 2013 and has since posted about 450 videos and gained more than 225,000 subscribers.
When she announced her diagnosis in July 2023, Pettway revealed that she had initially been misdiagnosed with uterine fibroids, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a “common tumor of the uterus.”
“I've been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I don't even know where to begin, but I want to share why I've been dying for so long. I hope my story can inspire at least one person,” Pettaway wrote.
The content creator recalled that her symptoms began in June 2022 after she experienced “heavy vaginal bleeding.”
Pettway received the same diagnosis throughout her hospital stay from July 2022 to January 2023 and until she saw an oncologist in February 2023.
“On February 8th, 2023, he performed a biopsy on me as an outpatient. When I woke up from the anesthesia, he casually said, 'Yes, you have stage 3 cervical cancer.' As it turned out, it wasn't fibroids, it was cancer. I'd been misdiagnosed all this time,” Petway wrote.
“I remember as soon as I heard it I said to myself, 'I don't agree with this diagnosis', so I didn't. It wasn't the fact I had cancer that shocked me; it was the reaction of those close to me that shocked me,” she continued.
The social media personality is already mother to daughters Kylie, 10, and Zoey Lee, 3, with her husband of 12 years. essence.
Jessica Pettway/Instagram
In an Instagram post in August of that year, Pettway described how it felt to watch loved ones witness her treatment journey.
“Any time you're battling an illness it not only changes your life but the lives of those close to you. This year has rocked our world. From countless hospital stays to the financial strain. We've experienced it all! Our daughters are too young to understand, but they have noticed the changes,” Petway wrote.
She said it had been “painful” to watch her husband's emotional breakdown, but they were “determined to get through this together.”
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“We've done our best to push forward and not let the situation get the better of us. It's not been easy, but we've come this far,” Pettway added.
