Rachel Yaffe, former lacrosse player who documented her cancer on TikTok, dies at 27

Rachel Yaffe, a former Baltimore County lacrosse standout who documented her life with cancer on social media, died Friday. She was 27.

Yaffe grew up in Lutherville and graduated from St. Paul’s School in 2015. She played lacrosse at the George Washington University in 2016, appearing in 15 games and starting five as a freshman. Yaffe also played four years of field hockey in high school.

She is survived by parents Linda and Wayne Yaffe, brother Jordan Yaffe, sister Jessica Yaffe, grandmother Sydney Bass and dog Layla, according to an obituary from Sol Levinson & Bros funeral home. Funeral services will be private.

Yaffe shared with over 60,000 followers on her TikTok and Instagram accounts about her battle with liver cancer since being diagnosed at 20.

“I’m from the suburbs of Baltimore and just moved to NYC from LA a few months ago,” she wrote in an Instagram post in December 2023. “I was diagnosed with a chronic rare stage 4 liver cancer over 6 years ago.”

Yaffe later moved to New York City and also posted about skin care, recipes, Pilates and travel. Over the summer she shared part of her experience with radiation therapy on tumors.

“It’s really difficult to eat and maintain my lifestyle. I feel exhausted. I just feel off,” Yaffe said on TikTok in July.

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St. Paul's graduate Rachel Yaffe on July 9, 2015. She was preparing to play for Israel in a tournament in Scotland later that month that is part of the Federation of International Lacrosse Under-19 World Championships. (Brian Krista/Staff)