Awful news out of Lehigh Valley Phantoms camp this Friday: defenseman Logan Pyett, 27, has been diagnosed with sarcoma, a form of cancer, in his upper left leg.
“He will be out indefinitely,” general manager Ron Hextall said. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the Pyett family.”
Here are the basics on sarcoma, via WebMD:
Sarcoma is a rare kind of cancer. Sarcomas are different from the much more common carcinomas because they happen in a different kind of tissue. Sarcomas grow in connective tissue — cells that connect or support other kinds of tissue in your body. These tumors are most common in the bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, nerves, fat, and blood vessels of your arms and legs, but they can happen anywhere.
Although there are more than 50 types of sarcoma, they can be grouped into two main kinds: soft tissue sarcoma and bone sarcoma, orosteosarcoma. About 1 out of 100 cases of adult cancers is soft tissue sarcoma. Osteosarcomas are even rarer.
Sarcomas can be treated, often by having surgery to remove the tumor.
Pyett played the last two seasons in the KHL before signing an AHL deal with the Phantoms this offseason. Prior to that, he played five seasons in the AHL with Connecticut and Grand Rapids, and five seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats. He won gold with Canada at the 2008 World Juniors.
Best of luck to him and his family.
