A heartbreaking update about TikTok star Rachel Yaffe…
The social media personality sadly passed away on October 11 following a seven-year battle with liver cancer. She was just 27 years old. For those who haven’t been following her health journey online, Rachel said she first realized something was wrong in her high school as she experienced a lot of inflammation. When things did not improve over the years, she went to the doctor she knew who felt around her entire body, including her liver, but did not find anything abnormal.
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However, the physician saw how concerned Rachel was and referred her to a specialist. It was there that she finally got answers about what was going on. The specialist discovered a 20-centimeter tumor in her liver. A biopsy then confirmed she had fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, which the National Cancer Institute says is a rare form of liver cancer that usually grows in teens and adults under 40. What makes this cancer so different from other types of liver cancers is it happens to those with “healthy livers.” What’s more, most people with fibrolamellar don’t have symptoms when it starts, leading to late diagnosis. That is why Rachel stressed to her followers to get checked out by doctors sooner rather than later if they think something is off. She said:
“I feel like everybody was making 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 that it was sending me… because everyone was telling me that I was wrong and they couldn’t find anything. If there is one thing that I’ve learned, it is to trust your body. Don’t let anybody make you feel like you are wrong or crazy for feeling certain things.”
@rachelkyaffe Pt 2. Rare cancer diagnosis story at age 20 #cancerdiagnosis#diagnosisstory#healingjourney#chronicillness#trustyourbody#cancerhealingjourney
In her case, Rachel was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She underwent surgery days later to remove the rumor. While the content creator thought her cancer journey was over from there, that sadly was not true. It returned three months later in her liver and lungs. After moving to New York City from Los Angeles in September 2023, she then experienced a major scare. A tumor put pressure on her heart and blocked airflow to her lung, causing it to hemorrhage. Rachel had several life-saving surgeries and was intubated for three days. During that time, her parents started her on radiation and immunotherapy in the hopes of shrinking the tumor and stopping the bleeding.
By June, most of her tumors were “stable” again. However, doctors were worried about one in her abdomen, so she began proton therapy to treat it. Last month, Rachel got real about how hard treatment has been on her body, saying:
“I lost so much of my strength when I was getting radiation and I’m starting from day one. It’s been so hard to get up and force myself to move, so I’m working on doing that. Thankfully it’s easier to walk around here being in the city. Plus, I’m working really hard to stick to a really strict food regimen for cancer healing so its taking up a lot of energy. I [have] a pretty low appetite so its been a little bit difficult both physically and mentally but I’m working on just focusing on the small things that that bring me joy. I’m really, really, really prioritizing my mental health as well.”
This unfortunately was her last video on TikTok. Watch (below):
@rachelkyaffe Finding the little johs helps me stay motivated even on my worst days ???? #cancerhealing#healing#findingjoy#nycliving#exercise#healthyliving#cleaneating#chronicillness#antiinflammatory
Our hearts go out to her loved ones. Rest in peace, Rachel…
[Image via Rachel Yaffe/Instagram/TikTok]
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