La Tech RB Jaqwis Dancy out, diagnosed with cancer

RUSTON, La. (AP) - Louisiana Tech running back Jaqwis Dancy has been sidelined for the rest of the 2016 season after being diagnosed with cancer.

Coach Skip Holtz said Monday that the 19-year-old sophomore from Junction City, Arkansas, was rehabbing an ankle injury when he first complained about a lymph node. Tests results came back Oct. 7 positive for Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of treatable cancer that starts in white blood cells. The five-year survival rate for Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma is 80 percent, according to cancer.org.

Holtz's informed the team that weekend. Dancy is scheduled to begin treatment at St. Jude's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee this week, he said.

"Jaqwis is in a different battle right now," Holtz said in a statement. "All of our thoughts and prayers are with Jaqwis. He is constantly on our minds and in our prayers, with what we are doing as a football team right now. There is a dose of reality that we have a teammate and a family member that is fighting through a tough battle right now.

"For everyone on this team, it has brought a real sense of togetherness and appreciation for the blessings that we have on a day-to-day basis."

Dancy played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2015 as a reserve running back and kick returner, totaling 17 kickoff returns for 296 yards. He was expected to play a role in the backfield this season before he injured his ankle in fall camp.

The News-Star reports (http://tnsne.ws/2eeGFuh ) Tech honored Dancy over the weekend at UMass by wearing a blue decal with Dancy's No. 20 that read "compete." The Bulldogs beat UMass 56-28.