Mom who survived leukemia battle and gave birth to twins has died

LOS ANGELES, California -- Susie Rabaca, the Southern California mother who survived a battle with leukemia long enough to give birth to healthy twins, has died.

Rabaca, a mother of five children, died Wednesday morning with family at her side, her mother told Eyewitness News.

Eyewitness News brought you Rabaca's story in 2018 when she was weeks away from giving birth and in need of a bone-marrow transplant to help treat her leukemia.

In response to her story, a record-breaking number of people signed up to be potential bone-marrow donors, but she needed a 100% match and her mixed heritage made it difficult to find a donor.

RELATED: SoCal leukemia patient gives birth to twins after finding perfect donor match


A perfect match was found and she gave birth to twins shortly after in December 2018.

Unfortunately, the cancer returned, and she needed a second transplant.

"She fought until she had nothing left to give," Susie's mother said in a social media post. "Susie's story touched so many people and thousands of lives will be saved because of her. My daughter did not lose her battle. She won! She is a warrior!"

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family and the future education of Rabaca's children.