EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — After being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer the summer going into his senior year, Oak Ridge High School baseball player Bryce Bazor has felt an immense amount of support from his community.
When Bryce began developing slight pains during his summer ball season in July, his parents decided to take him to the doctor.
“After checking it out and sending in biopsies, they found it was chondroblastic osteosarcoma, which is a very rare form of cancer,” Bryce’s father, Jim Bazor, told ABC10.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 1,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with chondroblastic osteosarcoma each year.
Bryce was forced to leave baseball, which has been a part of his life since he was a child, behind this season after being diagnosed with cancer. Despite what he is currently going through, Bryce’s friends, family and teammates describe him as a resilient individual.
“One of Bryce’s defining characteristics is that his spirits are always high. I am honestly surprised at how well he is handling everything he is going through,” Jack Bolton, one of Bryce’s best friends and teammates said. “That’s just who he is as a person.”
Wes Clanton, Oak Ridge’s Junior Varsity baseball coach, said Bryce does not have an ounce of quit in his body.
“I look at what he's doing right now, and he's fighting, just like he did on the baseball field,” Clanton said.
Bryce said having a positive outlook and keeping a smile on his face every day despite what he is going through has helped him through his fight against cancer.
Although Bryce cannot play during his senior season, his coaches and teammates are making sure he’s still on the field in some capacity for every game.
“We play for one reason right now; we play for Bryce,” Clanton said. “Every time we touch that field, it's for him.”
On Saturday, the Del Oro High School baseball team wore Bryce’s number and “family” across their jerseys during their game against Oak Ridge. At Tuesday’s rivalry game against Folsom High School, both teams lined up together as they presented Bryce with a jersey, plaque and letterman patch.
Bryce said it was nice to see not only his friends supporting him, but his friends from Folsom supporting him as well.
“It was awesome to have everyone there supporting me,” Bryce said. “It was also great to be on the field again. I miss it.”
Bryce's close friends and teammates said seeing the whole baseball community come together as one put "a little bit of fight" in all of their hearts and gave them something to play for.
Over the course of his battle with cancer, Bryce has decided that he wants to set up a foundation in his name to raise money for cancer research.
“We want to do everything we can moving forward to help Bryce and other children just like him be able to overcome this rare form of cancer," Bryce's father said.
Clanton said him and Bryce's father have decided to set up a Wiffle ball tournament for Sunday, May 1 to raise money for cancer research. Claton said there are 16 teams playing in Sunday's Wiffle ball tournament.
“We’ve had an unbelievable outpour of support," Claton said. “We want the Bazor family to understand that they have the support of a family behind them.”
Bryce's father said their family cannot begin to express the amount of love and support they have received from the community.
“Our friends, family, and community are what have given our family the strength and courage to get through this,” Bryce’s father said. “These people have given us a reason to fight and to not feel alone."
Bryce said it has been great to have a whole community standing behind him, helping him get through his cancer battle.
“Just seeing that support extending beyond our El Dorado Hills community and moving into other communities across California has been amazing," Bryce said.
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