Taken too soon

A photo of Jocelyn enjoying some ice cream, printed in the Oct. 9, 2007 Sauk Centre Herald. She was around 15 months old when this picture was taken.

The dark week at B-B-E continues as we prepare to lay rest to Jocelyn Dickhoff, who passed away on Saturday morning after a life-long battle with cancer (alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma). Funeral announcements are posted further below.

What is rhabdomyosarcoma?

Sarcomas are cancers that develop from connective tissues in the body, such as muscles, fat, membranes that line the joints, or blood vessels. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles of the body, according to information from the American Cancer Society website.

Skeletal muscles first begin to form in embryos at about seven weeks. At that time, rhabdomyoblasts (cells that will eventually form muscles) begin to form. These are cells that can become malignant and develop into the cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma.

Because this is a cancer of embryonic cells, it is more common in younger people. Over 85 percent of rhabdomyosarcomas occur in infants, children and teenagers.

Treatment includes surgery for removal of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiation.