Former Quincy High athlete dies after two-year battle with brain cancer

Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger
Updated ·1 min read
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Priscilla Bonica left, hugs her former basketball coach, Allie Scarpa, right, during the Bigger than Basketball fundraiser for Priscilla at Quincy High School, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2022. Priscilla, a 2021 Quincy high graduate and who played several sports while a student, died of brain cancer on Saturday morning, June 17.
Priscilla Bonica left, hugs her former basketball coach, Allie Scarpa, right, during the Bigger than Basketball fundraiser for Priscilla at Quincy High School, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2022. Priscilla, a 2021 Quincy high graduate and who played several sports while a student, died of brain cancer on Saturday morning, June 17.

QUINCY – Priscilla Bonica, a Quincy High School graduate and former captain of the girls’ basketball team, died Saturday after a two-year battle with brain cancer. Her father, Stephen Bonica, posted a short message to Facebook honoring his daughter and thanking supporters. Bonica was 20 years old.

“After more than two years battling a vicious cancer, Priscilla passed this afternoon – peacefully in her bed, surrounded by family and close friends,” his message reads. “She fought hard for so long like a kid from Hough’s Neck. She fought like a 'Nice Kid.' We are so proud of everything she has done for us and for so many over her short 20 years on this earth. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We love you all.”

Fiona Santoro, of Quincy, pays her respects on Tuesday June 20, 2023, at a memorial for Priscilla Bonica, who died recently after a two-year battle with brain cancer. Fiona's daughter Cinneide played youth softball with Bonica at Mitchell/McCoy Field, the site of the memorial.
Fiona Santoro, of Quincy, pays her respects on Tuesday June 20, 2023, at a memorial for Priscilla Bonica, who died recently after a two-year battle with brain cancer. Fiona's daughter Cinneide played youth softball with Bonica at Mitchell/McCoy Field, the site of the memorial.

Read her obituary here: 'She became an inspiration to all who came to witness her journey'

A three-sport athlete, Bonica graduated from Quincy High School in 2021 and had been recruited to play basketball at Westfield State University before her diagnosis. In May 2021, doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital diagnosed her with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH, after she sought medical attention for persistent headaches.

Bonica was set to receive a bone marrow transplant to treat HLH, but in July 2021 the family learned she had brain cancer after doctors discovered a tumor.

Erin Bonica, mother of Priscilla Bonica, shoots a basket during the knockout basketball contest at the Bigger than Basketball fundraiser for Priscilla Bonica at Quincy High School, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2022.
Erin Bonica, mother of Priscilla Bonica, shoots a basket during the knockout basketball contest at the Bigger than Basketball fundraiser for Priscilla Bonica at Quincy High School, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2022.

In the winter of 2022, the Bonicas and the Quincy girls basketball team held three fundraisers, including a basketball event at Quincy High School on Feb. 6.

At the event, Quincy High girls basketball coach Sarah Conlon described Bonica as “a team-first kind of player. She can make everybody smile.”

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Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy student-athlete Priscilla Bonica dies of brain cancer at 20