Glamorous TikTok star Rachel Yaffe dies from liver cancer aged 27 after warning followers to ‘trust their gut’

A TikTok star has died aged 27 from a rare liver cancer after a seven-year battle with the disease.

Rachel Yaffe, from Maryland, died on October 11, with one of her tragic last messages describing feeling weak after another bout of radiation.

In the clip, she appears in good spirits, but reveals how her appetite began to wane, as evidenced by her increasingly weak figure.

Ms Yaffe – who documented her cancer journey online – said she felt something was wrong in her late teens but put this down to a gluten intolerance.

But after visiting a doctor who saw her concerns, she was referred to a specialist who discovered an 8-inch tumor in her liver.

A biopsy confirmed fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare form of cancer that is unique in that it mainly affects young, healthy people.

The disease is extremely rare, affecting only about 200 people worldwide each year.

Most cases occur in teenagers 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 obvious symptoms, most patients are diagnosed late and the disease has already spread from the liver to other parts of the body, where it is much more difficult to treat.

The five-year survival rate for stage I fibrolamellar carcinoma is 86%, but this drops to 44% as the cancer progresses to stage 2.

After experiencing bloating in her abdomen, Ms Yaffe was diagnosed with fibrolamellar stage 4 and underwent emergency surgery a few days later to remove the tumor.

Although she believed this would be the end of her cancer story, it was just the beginning, and three months later the disease returned in the liver and lungs.

This, she said, is when she “kicked into gear with research and healing.”

Over the years, the former college lacrosse player said she has tried everything to combat the disease, including traditional and alternative medicines.

Many of Ms. Yaffe’s previous posts on Instagram featured photos of healthy meals, as she aimed to nourish her body with dishes like homemade chicken soup and “brown rice noodles with sauteed vegetables.”

Ms Yaffe said she felt something was wrong in her late teens but this was due to a gluten intolerance

A biopsy confirmed that Ms Yaffe had an extremely rare form of liver cancer known as fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma

Ms. Yaffe addresses how her diet changed during her cancer journey, telling viewers in a July TikTok post, “I was a plant-based vegan for a long time.

“After going through what I went through and re-evaluating my blood work with my new practitioners, we found that I was quite deficient in some of the nutrients I really needed from protein and fat, so I’m actually leaning more to the keto carnivore diet, which is so new to me.’

She finishes the post by showing the contents of her lunch plate, which consisted of a piece of avocado, two chicken and apple sausages, a piece of turkey bacon and an egg, “all cooked in beef fat.”

After living in Los Angeles for a while, Ms. Yaffe moved to New York, where her sister lives, in September 2023.

However, shortly after her big move, she suffered a major health setback in February this year as her lungs bled.

In a TikTok post, Ms Yaffe explained that this was due to a tumor putting pressure on her heart and blocking airflow to her lung, causing it to bleed.

While she underwent multiple life-saving emergency procedures and was intubated for three days, her parents cleared her to begin radiation and immunotherapy to shrink the tumor and stop the bleeding.

In an update Ms Yaffe gave on her condition in June, she said she had gotten scans back and there were some “really positive parts and some not so ideal parts” so she was sorting out her plan and the next steps.

Although the majority of the tumors in her body looked ‘stable’, there was one in her abdomen that worried doctors, so she opted for proton therapy to treat it.

Although the majority of the tumors in her body looked ‘stable’, there was one in her abdomen that worried doctors

On October 11, Ms Yaffe’s obituary was posted online with details for her funeral. Above, pictured with a friend in September

In proton beam therapy, particle beams called protons treat the tumor.

But unlike X-rays, they do not travel further (through healthy tissue) after reaching their target; instead, they come to a standstill.

Ms Yaffe said she noticed fewer side effects from the proton therapy and it did not affect her normal life.

After this most recent round of proton therapy, Ms. Yaffe rested at her parents’ home in Baltimore before returning to New York in late August.

However, in a TikTok posted from her Manhattan apartment in September, she appears weaker than ever and her physique is becoming increasingly frail.

This would be her last video.

In a cheerful mood, Ms Yaffe tells viewers: “I lost so much of my strength when I got 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 that.”

‘Fortunately it is easier to walk around the city here.

‘Plus, I work very hard to adhere to a very strict nutritional regimen for cancer healing, so it takes a lot of energy.

In a TikTok at the top of her feed, Ms Yaffe says her lasting message is that others should be checked by doctors if they think something is wrong

“I (have) quite a low appetite, so it’s been a bit difficult both physically and mentally, but I’m working on focusing on the little things that bring me joy.

‘I also really prioritize my mental health.’

On October 11, Ms Yaffe’s obituary was posted online with details of her funeral.

It reads, “She is survived by her devoted parents, Linda (nee Bass) and Wayne Yaffe; beloved brother and sister, Jordan Yaffe and Jessica Yaffe; dear grandmother, Sydney Bass; and loving dog, Layla.”

In a TikTok at the top of her feed, Ms Yaffe said her lasting message is that others should be checked by doctors if they think something is wrong.

She talks about how she dealt with the symptoms long before she got help: “I feel like everyone made me feel like it was my anxiety and that 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 giving me… because everyone was telling 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 wrong or crazy for feeling certain things.’