Cindy Crawford's late brother helped her find peace with his death.

The 49-year-old beauty was just eight years old when she tragically lost her three-year-old brother Jeff to cancer and she has opened up about how he helped prepare her and her family for his own death.

She said: ''I think when my parents first told us that my brother was sick, we didn't really understand what it meant. They didn't use the word 'cancer.'''

Recalling what her mother told her had happened, she added: ''My mother said she found him sitting in his room. He was sitting at his little table, and she said, 'What are you doing?' And he said, 'I'm praying.'

''And she said, 'What are you praying about?' He said, 'So that when I die, you'll be OK.' As a mom now, I can't imagine hearing your child say that.''

The 'House of Style' star also recounted the time when her brother was given a break from his cancer treatment, although he told the doctor he wouldn't be returning.

In a video for Oprah's Master Class, she said: ''He said, 'I'm not doing that.' He's three years old, so they're all like, 'OK, sure.'

''And the day that he was supposed to go back to the hospital, that's the day he died. There's some sense of completeness and peace that comes with knowing he knew that and he decided he was done fighting.''