A TikTok star has died of a rare liver cancer at age 27 after a seven-year battle with the disease.
Rachel Yaffe of Maryland passed away on October 11, and one of her tragic final posts details how she felt weak after another radiation attack.
In the clip he appears in a good mood, but reveals how his appetite was beginning to wane, as can be seen from his increasingly fragile figure.
Yaffe, who documented her cancer journey online, said she felt something was wrong in her late teens, but attributed it to a gluten intolerance.
But after visiting a doctor who saw her level of concern, she was referred to a specialist who discovered a 20cm tumor in her liver.
A biopsy confirmed fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare form of cancer that is unique because it primarily affects young, healthy people.
Rachel Yaffe of Maryland passed away on October 11 at the age of 27, after a seven-year battle with liver cancer.
The disease is extremely rare and only affects about 200 people worldwide each year.
Most cases occur in adolescents and young adults, although cases have been recorded in patients as young as two years old and as young as 74 years old.
Because there are few telltale symptoms, most patients are diagnosed late and the disease has already spread from the liver to other parts of the body where it becomes much more difficult to treat.
The five-year survival rate for stage I fibrolamellar carcinoma is 86%, however, it plummets to 44% if the cancer progresses to stage 2 or later.
After experiencing swelling in her abdomen, Ms Yaffe was diagnosed with stage 4 fibrolamellar and was rushed into surgery a few days later to have the tumor removed.
While he believed this would be the end of his cancer saga, it was just the beginning and it returned three months later in his liver and lungs.
It was then, he said, that he “got into action with research and healing.”
Over the years, the former college lacrosse player said she tried everything to combat the disease, including traditional and alternative medicines.
Many of Yaffe’s previous Instagram posts capture shots of healthy meals, as she strived to nourish her body with dishes like homemade chicken soup and “brown rice noodles with stir-fried vegetables.”
Yaffe said he felt something was wrong in his late teens, but attributed it to a gluten intolerance.
A biopsy confirmed that Mrs Yaffe had an extremely rare form of liver cancer known as fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
Referring to how her diet changed during her cancer journey, Ms Yaffe tells viewers in a TikTok posted in July: “I was a plant-based vegan for quite a while.
“After going through what I went through and reevaluating my blood work with my new interns, we discovered that I was quite deficient in some of the nutrients I really needed from protein and fat, so I’m actually leaning more toward the ketogenic diet .Carnivore diet, which is so new to me.
He ends the post by showing the contents of his lunch plate, which is a piece of avocado, two chicken and apple sausages, a piece of turkey bacon and an egg, ‘all cooked in beef tallow.’
After living in Los Angeles for a time, Yaffe moved to New York in September 2023, where her sister lives.
However, shortly after his big move, he suffered a major health setback in February of this year when his lung hemorrhaged.
In a TikTok post, Ms Yaffe explains that this was because a tumor pressed on her heart and blocked airflow to her lung, causing her to bleed.
While she underwent multiple life-saving emergency procedures and was incubated for three days, her parents gave consent for her to begin radiation and immunotherapy to shrink the tumor and stop bleeding.
In an update Ms Yaffe gave about her condition in June, she said she had scans and there were some “really positive parts and some not so ideal parts”, so she was outlining her plan and next steps.
While most of the tumors in his body seemed “stable,” there was one in his abdomen that worried doctors, so he turned to proton therapy to treat it.
While most of the tumors in his body appeared “stable,” there was one in his abdomen that concerned doctors.
On October 11, Ms Yaffe’s obituary was published online with details of her funeral. Above, pictured with a friend in September.
With proton beam therapy, the tumor is treated with beams of particles called protons.
But unlike x-rays, they don’t continue traveling (through healthy tissue) after reaching their target; instead, they stop.
Yaffe said he found that he experienced fewer side effects with proton therapy and that it did not affect his normal life.
After this most recent round of proton therapy, Yaffe rested at his parents’ home in Baltimore before returning to New York in late August.
However, in a TikTok posted from his Manhattan apartment in September, he appears to be weaker than ever, with his physique becoming increasingly frail.
This would be his last video.
Maintaining an upbeat mood, Ms Yaffe tells viewers: “I lost a lot of my strength when I was receiving radiation and I’m starting from day one.
‘It’s been very difficult to get up and force myself to move, so I’m working on it.
‘Fortunately, it’s easier to walk around here when you’re in the city.
‘Also, I am working very hard to follow a very strict diet for cancer cure, so it consumes a lot of energy.
In a TikTok pinned to the top of his feed, Yaffe says his lasting message is for others to be examined by doctors if they think something is wrong.
“I have a very little appetite, so it’s been a little difficult both physically and mentally, but I’m working on focusing on the little things that bring me joy.”
“I’m really prioritizing my mental health as well.”
On October 11, Ms. Yaffe’s obituary was posted online with details about her funeral.
It says: ‘He is survived by his devoted parents, Linda (nee Bass) and Wayne Yaffe; dear siblings, Jordan Yaffe and Jessica Yaffe; Dear grandmother, Sydney Bass; and loving dog, Layla.’
In a TikTok pinned to the top of his feed, Yaffe says his lasting message is for others to be examined by doctors if they think something is wrong.
She says, referring to how she dealt with her symptoms long before seeking help: “I feel like everyone made me feel like it was my anxiety and like I was crazy and I know a lot of people have stories like this.”
‘It made me stop trusting my body and the signals it was sending me… because everyone told me I was wrong and they couldn’t find anything.
‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to trust your body. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re wrong or crazy for feeling certain things.’