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Photo by Frank Couch.
Rachel Corscadden looks at her husband, Eric, during the October 2015 Rally for Rachel.
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Photo courtesy of Kathryn Peters.
Eric and Rachel Corscadden with sons Liam and Graham.
Unwavering strength and optimism.
Those who knew Rachel Corscadden said those traits defined her battle with breast cancer, right up until her final days.
“Even in times where maybe she was down, she would always find a way to comfort you. If she felt like I was nervous about something the doctor said, she would find a way to make me feel better, which was always surprising to me. She just never wanted anyone to be worried or upset,” said childhood friend and fellow Homewood resident Lesley Hendon.
Rachel Corscadden was an Edgewood resident and mother of two boys, Graham and Liam. She died March 8 at 32 years old after a breast cancer battle of nearly four years. Her husband, Eric, and friends remember her as a bright, loving person who everyone in Homewood seemed to know.
“She was super fun, always knew how to make you laugh and lighten up the conversation, especially after being sick. People would get nervous about talking about it, the cancer and the diagnosis and the prognosis, and she would always lighten the mood,” Hendon said.
“Even if she was wrapped up in cords and machines, she’d come outside and just have a great outlook. Never down, to us at least,” said her friend and Edgewood neighbor Ashley Berkery.
Rachel Corscadden was diagnosed and began chemotherapy treatments while pregnant with her younger son.
Liam, who she called her “miracle baby,” now wants to be a police officer or a firefighter like his father. Eric Corscadden said he still recalls the joy of his second child’s birth, in the midst of chemo treatments and uncertainty.
After the initial diagnosis, Hendon and two other friends joined Rachel Corscadden in shaving their heads. It’s an enduring memory for Hendon, as she recalls their laughter while shaving their hair into mullets or Mohawks, but also Rachel Corscadden’s eventual tears when her bald head made the cancer seem so much more real.
“It was one thing we felt like we could give to her,” Hendon said.
Berkery recalls days spent talking on the porch, while their children played together and people driving down the street would stop to see how Rachel Corscadden was feeling.
She also remembers the Rally for Rachel in October 2015. They had planned a simple prayer rally on the corner at the Edgewood shopping center, but “everything Rachel gets out of control.”
The rally grew to the point where the street was shut down, and there were bounce houses, music and people selling products to donate the proceeds to the Corscadden family.
“Even people outside of Homewood are like, ‘This community’s unreal. We’ve never seen anything like this,’” Eric Corscadden said.
As Rachel Corscadden battled breast cancer, Homewood residents built a web of support for the young family. From housecleaning and caring for the kids to gift cards, food, financial donations and notes of support left in their mailboxes, Eric Corscadden said his neighbors’ response to his family’s struggle has convinced him that he never wants to leave Homewood.
“Everyone is legitimately concerned and caring and wanting to help. I mean, an overabundance of help,” Hendon said.
Eric Corscadden and Berkery said the staff at Edgewood Elementary particularly stepped up to make sure Graham and Liam had what they needed. Near the end of Rachel Corscadden’s life, Superintendent Bill Cleveland even walked Graham and Berkery’s oldest son home from school, so their parents could concentrate on her needs.
Through her neighborhood’s support and her own faith, Rachel Corscadden kept up her fight against breast cancer until the end.
“Her goal in hospice was to get kicked off of hospice. That was her attitude. She was going to fight till the end for those children and her husband,” Hendon said.
But she made it clear that, through her faith, she would win no matter the outcome. As family and friends said goodbye to Rachel Corscadden in early March, Berkery made a promise: “I’ve got your boys.”
And while the Homewood community as a whole continues to offer its support to the family, Berkery, Hendon and other friends are committed to making sure Rachel Corscadden’s sons grow up knowing about the amazing person their mother was.
“I have a soft spot in my heart to make good on that promise to her,” Berkery said.