Former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant Jael Strauss has died two months after revealing she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, Fox News can confirm. She was 34.
“I just want to share that Jael lived a full life and loved everyone she met unconditionally,” a close friend of Strauss told Fox News on Tuesday.
“She was a friend to all and helped hundreds of people find freedom from the pain of addiction,” Strauss’ friend continued. “She was an advocate for those who were most in need of support. Her love and care knew no bounds and she was, simply put, one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known.
“She greatly impacted all those who crossed her path.”
According to TMZ, citing sources, Strauss died in a hospice Tuesday morning.
Per the site, the aspiring model decided to stop chemotherapy at the end of October, and in November, Strauss shared on Facebook that she was spending her first night in a hospice.
“So many things I never knew about life. Or death. So many things,” she wrote at the time.
On October 4th, Strauss told fans about her cancer diagnosis in a heartbreaking social media post, saying that it has been determined “incurable.”
“I was gonna write some long thing but some of you guys deserve to know,” she wrote on Facebook just a few days ahead of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
“On October 2nd I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. It has aggressively spread throughout my body and is incurable.”
She continued: “With treatment, it may prolong my life longer than the ‘few months’ doctors said I could make it. I don’t want to die. I need another one of those miracles that I got back in 2013.”
Strauss, who appeared on Season 8 of the reality show, later confirmed she had progressive metastatic inflammatory breast cancer.
A GoFundMe page was set up on Strauss’ behalf in October to help with her medical expenses.
