STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Beautiful baby Luke shares his mother's sweet smile and striking green eyes.

The two were in tune emotionally, too.

If she was feeling a bit down, he would be unhappy.

And on that fateful day, it was like Luke knew.

Last month, the 7-month-old was sobbing uncontrollably during a check-up at the doctor's office, the same day his mom was rushed to the hospital because she couldn't catch her breath.

She didn't make it back home.

NYPD Officer Kelly Korchak, 38, of Eltingville, died of what is believed to be Sept. 11-related cancer on June 10, just six months after delivering her baby boy.

"She asked the doctor to just give her a year," said Korchak's husband, Steve Attarian, in an interview with the Advance. "She never got to be a mother to him.

"She would always say, 'I'm going to get better for him.'"

HEARTBREAKING DIAGNOSIS

Last October, Korchak returned home from work and found the side of her leg was swollen like a sausage, her husband said.

Tests revealed she had two clots, and one had burst.

But the chest x-ray was more ominous.

"The four doctors came in and formed a circle of doom around her," Attarian, 43, recalled. "They said, 'You have spots all over your lungs.'

"It looked like someone shot her lungs with a paintball gun."

Korchak, who never displayed any symptoms, was in her third trimester when she was diagnosed with primary peritoneal cancer, a rare form of the disease, the family said.

There was a discussion about delivering Luke early, but doctors warned the couple his lungs weren't fully developed and he could have bleeding on the brain.

After deciding against it, Korchak underwent one round of a platinum-based chemotherapy on Dec. 2, around two weeks before Luke was born.

The chemo, her husband said, was safe for her and the baby.

"She didn't forgo treatment," he said. "She gave up being a mom to fight this cancer."

After the delivery, Korchak underwent a few more rounds of chemo only to find out in March they were unsuccessful, and the cancer had grown.

By April, the treatment had taken its toll, and she had elevated calcium levels and diminished breathing.

During her battle, Korchak suffered from weight loss, hair loss, fevers, hot flashes, dry skin, runny nose, coughing and lost her sense of smell.

Even worse, as the treatments progressed, she couldn't take care of her son, the family said. Just holding him could blow out her veins.

"She went through hell, but I thought she would beat it," Attarian said. "My wife was tough as nails. She was my hero."

FINDING HER CALLING

Korchak's first dream was to become a teacher, but when she had trouble landing a full-time position, her dad, John Korchak, suggested she take the police exam.

She was resistant at first, but quickly found her new passion.

"She took to it and she had good instincts," said her mom, Denise Korchak. "She was good at reading people. She was meant to be a cop."

Korchak was in the academy during the 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, and worked at Ground Zero for two weeks. She had various responsibilities, including traffic posts and escorting utility workers, the family said.

Korchak graduated from the academy in 2002 and worked at the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn before being assigned to Staten Island. She first worked in the housing unit, and then joined the borough's Evidence Collection Team around 2007.

"She loved it," Attarian said. "She was very meticulous. If there was evidence, she would find it. She liked getting the perp for the victims and their families."

The 16-year NYPD veteran, who was known for her instincts and awareness in the field, was honored with the Advance's "Cop of the Month" award twice.

In the summer of 2012, she was instrumental in breaking up a burglary ring. Korchak recovered 17 latent fingerprints from two separate burglaries -- one on Clifton Avenue in Rosebank, the other on Castleton Avenue in West Brighton. In each case, the prints helped crack a burglary pattern.

The Clifton Avenue burglary led back to a man running an organized crew out of Queens that targeted Asian victims across the city, while the Castleton Avenue burglary led to a local suspect, Advance records show.

In 2006, she was again awarded "Cop of the Month" after aiding in the arrest of four shooting suspects.

"She was invaluable out on patrol," said Attarian, who is an officer with NYPD Emergency Service Truck 6 in Brooklyn. "She had a street eye."

FAMILY FIRST

Besides her beauty and kind heart, Attarian said he loved Korchak's devotion to her family -- even through her illness.

Korchak doted on her nieces and nephews, and was devoted to their activities. She taught her niece's Girls Scout troop to take fingerprints, and made sure she was the top cookie seller.

And even during her treatment, she'd make a point to call her sister, Dawn Deuble, to remind her about her nephew's after-school activities.

"At the cheerleading [events], she was the loudest," Deuble said. "And she would get mad if you weren't cheering as loud, too."

Her brother, Michael Korchak, shared a story about how she found him a cupcake place that would deliver last minute so he could surprise his wife for their first anniversary.

"She was loyal to family and friends,"he said. "She was a fun person."

"Aunt Kelly," who loved Food Network's "Chopped" and "Cupcake Wars," was known for her baking, especially cupcakes and cookies. She was popular for her biscotti, seven-layer cookies, shortbreads and Czechoslovakian cookies.

"She made something for everyone," Deuble said. "She baked for others, to make them happy. She never let it affect her personality."

"She was just amazing, she truly was," said her husband.