What Is Synovial Sarcoma? Cancer Victim Dustin Snyder Marries High School Sweetheart

A Florida resident fulfilled his last wish of marrying his high school sweetheart before losing the battle to a chronic disease Sunday. Dustin Snyder, who suffered from a rare form of cancer called Synovial Sarcoma, married Sierra Siverio in a heart-rending ceremony.

Synovial Sarcoma is a type of sarcoma that affects the soft tissues surrounding various bones and organs of the body. It is known to affect one to three individuals out of a million people every year.

The exact cause and risk factors of this form of sarcoma are not known, however, it is believed that the creation of a mutant gene is involved in bringing about the development of the disease in an individual. Since such genes are not hereditary and rather develop over time for unknown reasons, it is difficult to determine how these genes form in one's body.

Although the disease occurs at all ages, it is more often seen in teenagers or young adults. One of the early onset symptoms of this cancer is a lump or swelling in areas of the body like hip, knee, ankle, or shoulder joints, which are surrounded by soft tissues.

While, in some cases, the appearance of the lumps is accompanied by pain or numbness, there have been instances when the growing mass maybe completely painless. In the case of the latter, such lumps or tumors might go unnoticed by the patient until it’s too late to get it treated.

In Snyder’s case, Synovial Sarcoma initially affected his lungs. After the doctors performed several surgeries on his cancerous organ, he also received chemotherapy.

Three weeks after the doctors had assured Snyder that he was cancer-free, he experienced abdominal pain. He was readmitted to the hospital and that is when he got to know that the sarcoma had spread to his stomach and pelvic region. However, it was too late to seek treatment.

Not wanting to miss out on the one thing that mattered the most in his life, Snyder planned his wedding in four days. His mother, Cassandra Fondahn, said that entire community came together to make her son’s last wish a reality.

“I can't believe the number of people that reached out to help,” Fondahn told USA Today. “It's a lot of good and compassionate people.”

Snyder’s sister, Brittany Hails, had set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her brother’s wedding. The page received more than $38,000 in just five days.

“We are trying to make his wishes come true by providing him and his long-term girlfriend with a wedding on 28th Jan 2018 (Sunday),” the page read. “He really wants to marry the woman that has stuck by his side through all the sleepless night and now dealing with knowing he will pass anytime soon. Dustin always said ‘She is a Keeper’”

Snyder and Siverio fell for each other when they were in the sixth grade. However, they lost touch when they entered middle school. They reignited their love story after they became high school seniors. However, it was only after his first surgery that Snyder became sure that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Siverio.

"Probably after my first surgery when she was there for me in the hospital for 10 days straight, didn't ever leave, that's when I knew she was the one," Snyder had said.

"Sierra means the world to me. Everything,” he added. “Can’t even describe it in words."

“If two people love each other and they want to be together for the rest of their lives, why can't they be?” Sierra reportedly said before his wedding ceremony.