After nearly a three-year battle with cancer, O'Dea High School baseball player Josh Dickerson died Thursday. The 18-year-old, whose story was featured in The Seattle Times in May, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer found in the soft tissue of his wisdom teeth in October 2009.

Dickerson went through 11 months of chemotherapy, but the cancer returned late in 2011 in both his jaw and lung.

Doctors told him there was no cure but chemotherapy could prolong his life, though the painful side effects would force him to miss the 2012 baseball season. Dickerson chose baseball over the treatment.

Josh Dickerson's passion for the game, his father Kiyo said, was the driving force behind the decision.

"He loved the game, he absolutely lived for it since the moment he could pick up a ball and a bat," Kiyo said. "When you're cornered like Josh was and told there's not much more they can do for you, he knew he couldn't stop doing the thing he loved most."

A service celebrating Josh Dickerson's life is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16 at St. James Cathedral in Seattle.