Colantonio resolves to beat cancer, throw again

By Mary Albl for DyeStat 

Bobby Colantonio Jr. will never know how far he could have thrown his senior year.

For most of the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, the top ranked high school hammer thrower in the nation competed in pain. GOURLEY'S LISTS

After competing at the World U20 Championships, where he finished fourth, and beginning the process of moving to the University of Alabama, Colantonio received devastating news. He has a cancerous bone tumor in his left femur.

The nagging left knee injury that seemed to swell up every two weeks through a largely successful senior year for the Barrington RI graduate was examined during a physical in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Aug. 15. He found out that day that he had a tumor. Three days after that he learned it was malignant, Colantonio told DyeStat. 

"My femur was weakening as the year went on," Colantonio said. "So that is something I'm always going to have to wonder, 'How far could I have thrown in high school if I didn't have a cancerous tumor in my femur for the last season." 

Instead, he will no doubt discover how strong he is in other ways. 

"The thing is, with any sport, it all comes down to mental toughness," Colantonio said matter-of-factly. "It is something scary but it is something I'm willing to take on, and fight every last second."

Colantonio, who signed with Alabama last fall, wrapped up his prep career as just the second ever three-time Rhode Island outdoor hammer champion, finishing with a personal best toss of 251 feet, 2 inches. That ranks No. 5 all-time.

He won the New Balance Outdoor Nationals title, and added a second consecutive USATF Junior National championship to his resume. He was also Rhode Island's 2016 Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. 

In July, he traveled to Poland and reperesented the U.S. at the the IAAF World U20 Championships. 

Amid all of the success, Colantonio knew he wasn't 100 percent. He said he underwent varioius treatments, some that worked and others that did not. The medical opinions he received suggested the problem was a muscle or tendon issue. 

"To be honest with you, especially the last four months, there was something in my leg," Colantonio said. "What happened was my knee would swell up really, really bad. And it was kind of like a mound."

After Worlds ended in late July, Colantonio took some time off from throwing. In August, he packed up and drove down to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to start his new life.

"I was doing really well, it was all great, then I went to the physical and was finally going to get my knee fixed, and it was like I got hit over the head with a baseball bat," Colantonio said. 

Colantonio said Dr. Jimmy Robinson sat him down, asked about his knee and then ordered an X-ray. The results showed a bone tumor on Colantonio's left femur. Later that day, on the 15th, Colantonio's MRI indicated it was definitely a bone tumor that was growing out. 

The next step for Colantonio was to go back to Rhode Island to get biopsy surgery. 

"Basically I packed up all my stuff, drove back home, and Thursday (Aug. 18) I had the biopsy," he said.

The results revealed cancer. 

Later that same day, Colantonio posted on his Instagram account. It's a photo of him, smiling and donning an Alabama T-shirt and crimson shorts sitting at the Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence. The lengthy post shares his news. It ends with a scripture from Jeremiah 29:11. The post has accumulated more than 150 comments. 

Colantonio credits his positive demeanor to his experience and God. He has witnessed his father and grandfather both fight and beat cancer. 

"I just feel like everything happens for a reason," Colantonio said. "And I feel that as long as I have a trust in God and trust that I'm on a path going in one direction, that in the end there's going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. And I don't mind sticking to it and keeping my head up."

The 6-foot-3 Colantonio said he's gotten out all the crying and negative thoughts. He's been told he may never be a Division 1 thrower again. Right now he's on crutches to avoid breaking his femur. 

Later this week he'll receive lab results that will indicate whether he has Ewing Sarcoma or Osteosarcoma. If the verdict is Ewing Sarcoma, Colantonio should be able to treat it with chemotherapy and radiation. The option of throwing again is a bit more realistic. 

THURSDAY, Aug. 25 UPDATE - Colantonio's latest results showed it was Ewing's Sarcoma, but noticed it has spread to his left hip and lungs. 

"As of right now, all that means is they will have to radiate my lungs and hip as well as the femur, and obviously undergo the chemo therapy," Colantonio said through a text. 

On Monday he will have an appointment that should finalize everything, and two minor surgeries during the week. By Monday Sept. 5 he should begin chemotherapy .

A rarer case of Osteosarcoma would mean replacement of his femur and knee. The chances of Colantonio throwing competitively again would be diminished. 

Right now the plan is to stay in Rhode Island for about nine months until all of his treatment is done. He already has plans to get back down to Alabama. 

"The University of Alabama has been a great support system," he said. "The amount of people through text message and calling and DM (Direct Message) ... the support is kind of unimaginable.”

Colantonio remains optimistic that his positive outlook and competitive spirit will pull him through. 

“I'm going to beat it one way or another,” he said. “And if I can throw again that will be amazing.”