'She's Not Giving Up': Community Rallies For Oak Forest Police Wife, Mom Battling Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

OAK FOREST, IL — An Evergreen Park woman and beloved wife of an Oak Forest police officer is in a fight for her life against a rare brain cancer—and isn't ready to give up just yet.

Clare Rudd Pikunas, 35, was diagnosed in 2024 with IDH-mutant astrocytoma, a tumor characterized by its vine-like growth. Pikunas and her family have fought a private battle until recently when—after nearly three dozens rounds of radiation paired with daily chemotherapy—doctors said her diagnosis is terminal.

Now her family and friends are asking for the community to rally around Clare, who is married to Kevin and the mother of two boys, ages 2 and 4, as she shows the same resilience that's characterized her throughout her fight. A GoFundMe started for the family and shared throughout the suburban law enforcement community has raised $115,000—funds they plan to use to explore alternative treatments not covered by insurance.

Clare's sisters Colleen, 33, and Maggie, 34, started the fundraiser after learning that Clare could have just months to live. Her big sister has shown such fight, sister Colleen Rudd said she knows she would want to try everything to extend her life.

"I saw the day-to-day of her going through all of that treatment," Rudd said, "but still being as much of a mom and as present as she could be. She pushed herself.

"For me, it’s been incredible to see how hard she has tried to remain that Clare that we all know, but then with this progressing, she cannot be that."

Pikunas was first diagnosed in December 2024, after a sudden seizure. What initially seemed random quickly became serious, as scans revealed a tumor in the upper right side of her brain. As the seizures intensified, she underwent brain surgery in January 2025 to remove the mass.

Doctors described the tumor they'd found as menacing due to the way it spreads to surrounding brain tissue and is incredibly difficult to treat.

In January 2026, MRIs showed that the cancer had progressed beyond the original area, now reaching her spinal cord, Rudd wrote in the GoFundMe. She began another round of treatment, including targeted therapy and additional radiation. Recent imaging showed the cancer has progressed.

For Rudd, it's difficult to see her sister, known by many as a "strong presence, physically strong and athletic," sidelined by such an aggressive disease.

The oldest of three sisters, Pikunas set a strong example for the younger girls, the trio a tight-knit unit whose birthdays are each staggered just 1 year and 21 days apart from each other.

"Clare was always the straight-headed, knew-what-she wanted one," Rudd said. "Athletic. A very strong presence. But also very, very kind. I don’t believe she ever had an enemy in her life. Just a good person. She never pushed any boundaries, she was a good kid."

Born on the North Side, the "Rudd girls" were well-known in their community.

"You know how tight-knit communities are," Rudd remarked. "We grew up on the North Side—everybody in the neighborhood knew us three girls."

In a description many would instantly attribute to Rudd, she summed up Clare over the course of their lives.

"She just had her shit together," she said, bluntly and with a laugh.

All three sisters went to Carthage College, where they befriended Kevin Pikunas in 2011. Clare and Kevin built a friendship that would grow into a romantic relationship.

"They were together," Rudd said. "There was no 'breaking up.' They’re just friends. They built their romantic relationship on friendship."

Kevin was a natural fit in the family, Rudd said.

"He transitioned to a brother/friend, to my actual brother-in-law," Rudd said. "I'd never had a brother, but then I did."

Married in April 2019, they planned on a spring wedding but were blanketed in a freak blizzard instead, Rudd said, laughing.

Clare and Kevin have built a strong family life, fueled by a shared love of Kenny Chesney and trips to his family's lakehouse in Michigan, to name just a couple. Their oldest has just begun playing sports, with Clare readily embracing the role of sports mom and biggest cheerleader.

"Clare was the 'bionic mom,'" Rudd said. "The definition of a strong mom raising strong boys."

Displayed on her refrigerator, Rudd keeps a picture colored by her oldest nephew—the animated character Bluey and its family. It serves as a poignant reminder of her sister's family.

"It’s the cutest little family," Rudd said. "A representation of what we’re still fighting for."

An Oak Forest police officer since 2020, Kevin's coworkers are also rallying hard around them.

"The amount of support that the Pikunas Family has received and continues to receive is a powerful reflection as to the type of people they are: Beautiful people," said Pikunas' partner, Nicholas Ebs. "They need us to continue standing beside them while lifting them up with compassion, strength, and love. Please keep the Pikunas Family in your prayers, on your mind, and in your heart."

The community's response has been overwhelming, Rudd said.

"To see the people that come out—names you haven’t heard in years—the people that are supporting their family," Rudd said, "it’s been incredible. There’s beauty in this pain right now, and we needed that boost in humanity."

It wasn't easy for the family to make a private battle public, but it's brought light to a dark time, Rudd said.

"It’s been such a private thing, and now after us going public with it, it’s given this new type of beauty to the pain," she said.

"It sincerely brings a tear to my eye to see how much people care, even when they don’t need to. There’s so many families and moms—they’re just putting themselves in Clare's shoes. You don’t need to be super close to her to realize this is a terrible situation."

The family will use funds raised to pursue ongoing and alternative care and provide comfort, in hopes of giving Clare the best possible quality of life and time with her loved ones. Though her condition limits her physically, Rudd believes Pikunas draws strength to keep fighting from her sons.

"... And that’s why we’re still fighting," Rudd said. "I know she still wants to try everything possible.

"She’s not giving up, those two sweet faces and watching them play—she’s doing it for them."

The GoFundMe for the Pikunas family can be found here.