No time for excuses

SARASOTA — Tony Colton doesn’t make excuses. 

The Sarasota Christian sophomore striker doesn’t question why his body let him down or the choices that have undoubtedly been made in his best interest. 

In September, Colton’s scans showed his cancer was in remission for the fourth time; but on Nov. 30, Colton’s three-month scan revealed a small spot by his liver. It’s not guaranteed to be cancer, but there’s a 95% chance. So for now, Colton is in limbo waiting to see if the spot is going to develop further. 

“I have no clue,” Colton said of when his cancer will return. “It makes it a little easier because I can go into the hospital like it’s a normal day and not be stressed because it’s back.” 

But that hasn’t kept Colton away from the soccer field. Following his most recent scan, Colton returned to the sideline Nov. 30 for the Blazers game versus Bradenton Christian. 

Colton doesn’t have time to dwell on what may or may not happen in the future, and he doesn’t want his family, friends and teammates to either. 

“Have sympathy for other things — not me,” Colton said. 

Colton was 11 when his world changed. During a sports agility camp in July 2011, Colton started getting sick after every practice. Two weeks into the camp, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. 

Scans revealed Colton had clear-cell sarcoma — a rare form of kidney cancer. Doctors performed surgery to remove the tumor, which was the size of a football, along with Colton’s right kidney. 

It would be nearly three weeks before Colton was fully able to comprehend his diagnosis.

“The best part about being diagnosed when I was diagnosed was that I was on so much pain medication that I didn’t really know what was going on,” Colton said. 

This wasn’t the first time Colton had been hit by cancer. Colton’s best friend, Kyle Peters had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2010. He watched his friend go through a series of intense treatments, which caused him to lose his hair and miss numerous days of school. 

In June 2011, one month before Colton’s diagnosis, Peters went into remission. 

Two months later, Colton began his first of 16 cycles of extensive chemotherapy. Colton was admitted to the hospital every Monday morning where he would spend the duration of the week before getting discharged every Friday for the weekend. 

“I saw other kids in the hospital going through what I was going through get sad and I saw the effects of that,” Colton said. “I didn’t want that to happen to me, so for the most part I tried to stay positive.” 

Following his final round of chemotherapy, Colton’s scans revealed the cancer was gone. 

He returned to the hospital every three months for follow-up scans. It was during one of those routine visits, a year after he went into remission, that Colton learned the cancer had returned to the pocket where Colton’s kidney had been. 

“I’d never heard of my type of cancer relapsing,” Colton said. “It was like family at the hospital, so taking the news from them was a lot easier.” 

Colton flew to the National Institute of Health, in Washington, D.C., where he was placed in an experimental trial. He was only the sixth child in the world to undergo that specific trial. 

During his stay, Colton stayed on-campus at the Children’s Inn, which featured game rooms, lounges and kitchen’s in every room, among other amenities. He also had the opportunity to venture out of the hospital with his medicine flowing through an IV in his backpack to tour the national monuments and attend local sporting events. 

“It was like Walt Disney World for ill people,” Colton said. “It was super cool.” 

Unfortunately, the experimental trial didn’t have the desired effect. 

Colton, then 13, had another surgery and underwent five cycles of ice chemotherapy along with radiation. The treatment worked and in November 2013, Colton once again went into remission. 

Although Colton was told that there’s always a chance the cancer can come back once its in remission. And it did return for a third time in November 2014 and a fourth time in June.

Six months later, in June 2015, Colton had his answer. 

Colton’s cancer had returned for a fourth time; but this time, the period in between diagnoses had been shortened by half a year. 

“I had a very big feeling it was coming back this time,” Colton said. “We had planned on it. We had been hoping for a year, but we only had six months.” 

With the diagnosis came yet another surgery and participation in another experimental trial, which his oncologist at All Children’s Hospital, in St. Petersburg, co-wrote. 

Colton underwent two cycles of the treatment, which was a mixture of a diabetic drug and chemotherapy, but it did nothing more than make him extremely tired. 

The school year had already began and Colton had missed every single day of class up to that point. He made periodic trips to Sarasota Christian to pick up homework and catch up with friends. 

“It was definitely hard to be away,” Colton said. 

Colton is fortunate that his cancer hasn’t spread outside of his abdominal wall. Clear-cell sarcoma typically attacks the same spot on the body each time although it can eventually spread to the brain, heart and eventually the lungs. 

Colton’s doctors told him he couldn’t play soccer anymore, but he didn’t listen. He’s already played in five games for the Blazers. 

He has protective padding he’s supposed to wear under his jersey, but it’s too hot and itchy for his liking. So instead, Colton does his best to protect his abdominal wall and his port. 

“I’ve been playing so long that it’s become second nature,” said Colton, who aspires to someday enter the surgical field. “I know to protect it. I figure if I play physical enough then nobody is going to want to come near me.”

“It’s actually really cool to see the recovery that he’s gone through,” freshman Fisher Schlabach said. “I’m surprised by what he does in games. It’s just nice to see him out here enjoying time with friends.” 

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].