JESSICA Dykstra’s life came crashing down when what she thought was a leg injury turned out to be cancer.
The model and actress saw her dreams ripped away as she engaged in a battle to save her life.
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Jessica, 35, featured on the cover of GQ, in Sports Illustrated and in music videos - including for Chris Brown.
She hurt her leg in an accident in October 2019 and was forced to leave Los Angeles and move to Georgia to be with family as she recovered.
Late NFL star Demaryius Thomas retired in Georgia where he had family, took a look at her injury and immediately concluded something was wrong.
The former wide receiver paid for Jessica’s MRI scan – where doctors discovered she had a torn meniscus and also a small mass in her leg.
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Jessica told The U.S. Sun: “Every little girl’s dream job was to grow up and be a model.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and I got so lucky being a model and lived in Israel, Milan, New York and California.
“I had this dream job ripped out from under me and I was in pain. That was probably the most depressing thing.
“I lost 15lbs, I started getting night sweats and my leg just kept blowing up.”
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Jessica carried on about her business and flew to Yellowstone to shoot a new project.
She fell over while running down a hill and was rushed to a local hospital for more scans.
An X-ray revealed the mass had gotten bigger while a biopsy proved inconclusive.
She headed to Miami for a second biopsy – where it was confirmed the model had B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Jessica revealed: “I told the doctor he was full of s*** and kicked him out of my room and was like ‘I don’t have cancer, what are you talking about?’
“Then I knew if I lost my hair, there goes my modelling career. I didn’t want it to be cancer so I almost didn’t see it because I didn’t want to see it.
“Almost dying is hard to wrap your head around. I was in denial about being hurt.”
Jessica began holistic treatment and managed to shrink the tumors from 8cms to around 3cms before radiation on her leg last year led to another problem.
A scan showed she had two 11cm masses in her stomach and they were resistant to her holistic treatment.
She explained: “These things were just growing out of control - they went from 11cms to 15cms in two months.
“They started pushing on my kidneys and bladder and I went into kidney failure.
“I got like 18lbs worth of swelling. I thought I was gaining weight and looking cute but ended up being hospitalized.”
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The model needed plastic tubes in her kidneys to keep them open, but these stents led to more complications when she started chemotherapy.
She was in hospital after doctors discovered a vein in her leg had clotted which led to her needing a blood thinner injection every day.
Jessica picked up an infection while under treatment and went into septic shock four days after chemo.
The bacteria from the infection ran riot on her body while her white blood cell count was down, and they lived in the plastic stents.
“Septic shock is the scariest thing,” Jessica said. “My heart rate was 140.
“But everything happens for a reason and they told me if I didn’t have these stents in my kidneys I would’ve went into organ failure.
“The stents are where the bacteria is growing but they’re also keeping me alive.”
She needed emergency surgery to replace the stents and a blood transfusion.
The model went into septic shock once again after her second round of chemotherapy with the infection still lingering.
Jessica’s masses in her stomach have now shrunk from 15cms to 5cms as she continues treatment.
Sadly, her NFL-star friend Thomas died aged 33 in December 2021 from complications related to a seizure disorder in a major shock to the football world.
Jessica said: “He passed away and it was so sad because we thought I was the sick one.
“It was so crazy because he was a very healthy eater, worked out every day, and was very driven and focused.
“He got my first MRI and I really owe catching the cancer when I did to him because I was going to keep trucking through and waiting for it to heal.
“He was like ‘no, we got to get this together, you’ve got to go and get right’. His mom is really nice too.
“He and his mom were best friends and it felt really good to have people that care about me.”
I was in denial. I told the doctor he was full of s*** and kicked him out of my room and was like ‘I don’t have cancer, what are you talking about?’
Jessica Dykstra
Now 35, Jessica still has high hopes in her career.
She revealed: “One of my old clients took me back and that was like 'Oh my god, I can still do this.'
“The second I’ve got energy again I plan on hitting the ground running.
“I took acting classes for like four years and put so much time and money into acting. I want to get back on that path.
“I believe in positive mental attitude and try and stay happy and out of the negativity.
“If I've got energy I try and get out of the house and stay out of that mental dark room. I’ve cried, I’ve been terrified and nothing changed.”
The model added: “I come from a long line of strong women.
“My grandma was born in England and stationed in Birmingham around World War Two where she drove motorcycles back and forth with ammunition.
“When I try and look for my strength I can only imagine what she went through – she made it to 104 and outlived everybody.
“Chemo has taken so much out of me. I’m sad about losing my hair and I’m weak and I don’t feel good - but I’m just happy to be alive.
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“It's made me appreciate the little things more - just having hair and being able to walk.”
Jessica's GoFundMe page
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