Jessica Pettway has died from cervical cancer after receiving multiple incorrect medical diagnoses.
According to People, Pettway’s sister, Reyni Brown, confirmed her death via Instagram on Friday — nearly nine months after the beauty influencer revealed that doctors misdiagnosed her with fibroids.
“It’s my birthday today, and the only thing I could ever wish for is for God to bring you back on this earth,” Brown wrote, sharing a photo of her and her sibling. “I lost my beautiful big sister 2 days ago, and my heart has never felt pain like this.”
KFF Health News reported that 12 million people receive incorrect medical diagnoses annually in the United States, with certain patients being at higher risk.
David Newman-Toker, MD, Ph.D., the director of the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence, said misdiagnosis rates are 20% to 30% higher for women and racial and ethnic minorities than for white men. Researchers describe misdiagnosis as an urgent public health issue.
Like most diseases, Black women, in particular, are disproportionately affected by fibroids — defined as “common growths of the uterus” — and cervical cancer.
According to People, Pettway joined YouTube in November 2013, posting about 450 videos, gaining over 225,000 followers and amassing 16 million views.
Following a period of inactivity, the content creator wrote a lengthy post on Instagram in July 2023 in “hopes that at least one person is encouraged by my story.”
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Pettway recalled how she began experiencing “intense vaginal bleeding” in June 2022. She required multiple hospital stays between July and January 2023, with doctors repeatedly misdiagnosing her. In February 2023, she visited an oncologist.
“On Feb. 8th, 2023, he performed an outpatient biopsy on me,” Pettway wrote. “When I woke up from the anesthesia, he casually said, ‘Yep you…
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