Sarah Adicoff ’12 died Thursday morning after a long battle with cancer that began when she was in high school. She was 21.

Adicoff was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the body’s soft tissues, when she was 16. She relapsed multiple times, most recently in February 2009, after her first quarter at Stanford.

Adicoff lived in Branner her freshman year, Toyon sophomore year and Storey this fall quarter before taking a leave of absence in the winter. She was a member of Alpha Delta Phi Society, an unhoused co-ed fraternity on campus.

When members of Alpha Delt received word of Adicoff’s passing on Thursday afternoon, they organized an evening vigil at Lake Lagunita’s fire pit. Haley Knapp ’11, a member Alpha Delt and family friend of Adicoff’s, estimated that 20 to 30 people from Alpha Delt and Storey came to show their support and share stories.

“There were lots of silences because no one really knows what to say when you’ve got a loss like that,” Knapp said of the vigil. “But it turned out well.”

Avinash Achaibar ’12, a friend of Adicoff who lived with her in Branner and Storey this year, remembers Adicoff for her optimism and ability to appreciate each moment.

“Sarah was probably more full of life than a lot of people I know, and she knew probably more than anyone how to live in the moment,” Achaibar said. “She never let her sickness be a crutch or let it limit her. She would always talk about going to Disneyland and the Galapagos. At Stanford, I think living in the moment is something that we forget.”

Storey will host a support services meeting for those affected by Adicoff’s passing on Monday at 7 p.m. in the side lounge, according to resident assistant Andy Hiller ’11.

–Amy Julia Harris