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What is the rare liver cancer TikToker Rachel Yaffe died of at the age of 27? Know all about fibrolamellar carcinoma
Popular American TikToker Rachel Yaffe has passed away after being diagnosed with fibrolamellar carcinoma – a type of liver cancer, when she was just 20. Yaffe used to share updates about her health journey and had over 55,00 followers on the social media site. According to doctors, even though she was receiving treatment, the tumor continued to grow, ultimately forcing her to remain bedridden. Read on to know more.
Yaffe offered details about her diagnosis in a TikTok video, recalling how everyone initially attributed her symptoms to “anxiety.”
TikTok star Rachel Yaffe, 27, who suffered from a rare form of liver cancer, has died. When she was just 20 years old, she was diagnosed with fibrolamellar carcinoma cancer – a rare and specific type of liver cancer that affects people under the age of 40 and has healthy livers.
Yaffe shared updates about her health journey and gained more than 55,00 followers on the social media site.
What did Yaffe share about his liver cancer diagnosis?
Last year, Yaffe offered details about her diagnosis in a TikTok video, recalling how everyone initially attributed her symptoms to “anxiety.” However, after her ultrasound and subsequent visit to a hepatologist she discovered that she had a 20 cm tumor on her liver that was blocking blood flow to her calves and causing shoulder pain.
After undergoing a biopsy, Yaffe learned that his tumor was a “super rare juvenile liver cancer”. Yaffe began chemotherapy earlier this year, but the tumor had grown in size, reaching her left lung and putting pressure on her heart. After the tumor began bleeding, Yaffe received radiation that left her bedridden.
What is fibrolamellar carcinoma?,
According to the Journal of Liver Cancer, fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma or FLHCC is a rare fatal liver cancer whose characteristics differ from those of typical liver cancer.
FLHCC is common in young patients without any underlying liver disease and is thought to be associated with a unique gene mutation. Even though it is a rare type of cancer in Asia, only a few cases have been reported in South Korea so far.
What are the symptoms of FLHCC?
Some signs and symptoms of FLCC include:
- stomach pain, which may vary in intensity and duration
- weight loss
- Malaise, or a general feeling of being unwell or having low energy
- Jaundice, in which the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow
- a palpable mass in the liver
- swelling of the abdomen, also called ascites
- Fever
- nausea and vomiting
- loss of appetite
- night sweats
- low blood sugar levels, also called hypoglycemia
- mental status changes, such as confusion
According to doctors, many people initially have no symptoms when cancer first begins – however, later, as the tumor grows larger, symptoms may include stomach pain, shoulder and back pain, and nausea. Vomiting also occurs.
Can FLHCC be treated with the help of surgery?,
Doctors say when surgery is not possible or is unsuccessful, other treatments may be considered. Recurrence can occur after successful surgical removal of a tumor, meaning that sometimes the tumor comes back after it has been removed. The exact, underlying cause of this disorder is unknown.
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