Jennifer Lyon, who placed fourth on Survivor: Palau in 2005, died at her home in Oregon Tuesday night, PEOPLE has confirmed. She was 37.
The reality TV star was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer a few months after she wrapped Survivor, and opted for a modified, radical bilateral mastectomy, followed by courses of chemotherapy and tamoxifen, a drug used to prevent recurrence.
"In the summer of 2004, I felt something in my right breast that didn't feel normal," Lyon told PEOPLE in October 2005. "I thought it was probably scar tissue related to my breast implants. So I let it go for a long time."