'I'd had absolutely no symptoms -- it was a shock.'

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- Frank Catroneo is meticulous about his health.

Catroneo, 62 and a resident of Atlanta , has had a physical every year since he turned 30. He has been an avid jogger since his 20s. He has lifted weights, gone mountain biking and played tennis.

So two years ago, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Catroneo brought that same drive and determination to his fight with the disease.

His diagnosis came as an accident. He escorted his wife to a local lab while she got blood work done for her annual physical. His wasn't due for his own for another six months, and while he was waiting, on a whim, he asked the technicians to draw some of his blood for a Prostate-Specific Antigen test.

The lab sent the results to his family doctor, who called him in for a chat.

"My PSA was 3.5, still in normal range," Catroneo said. "But my family doc checked his records and found that my PSA had risen from 2.6 to 3.5 in two years. He suggested I go to a urologist to get it checked out."

The urologist suggested a biopsy, which was performed. The test revealed a malignancy.

"I went into a depression," Catroneo said. "You hear cancer, you think death. And I'd had absolutely no symptoms. It was a shock."

The depression only lasted a week before Catroneo dove into researching his ailment. He scoured the Internet. He talked with friends who'd suffered prostate cancer. He read books they recommended.

"Unfortunately, the more I read, the more confused I became," Catroneo said. "There are six or several different types of procedures for dealing with prostate cancer.

He then went on a whirlwind round of meetings with doctors, conducting seven interviews with physicians in 10 days. Radiologists, urologists, oncologists -- he met with them all.

"Everyone had a different opinion of what should be done, based on their own specialty," he said. "It's like going to a Chevrolet dealership and asking what brand of car to buy. What do you think they're going to tell you?"

Catroneo originally thought he would go with seeded radiation, in which the tumor is treated using tiny implanted radioactive seeds. "The more I learned about it, though, the more I didn't like it," he said. "After the seeds are put in, it takes about two years for your PSA to go to zero."

Catroneo finally opted for surgery. Then he went shopping for a doctor. He wanted a surgeon good enough to lessen his chances suffering the two major side effects of prostate surgery: incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

"They tell you once you find a procedure you want, then find a good doctor," he said.

He lucked out in that Emory University 's head of urology specialized in prostate cancer and had worked 25 years with one of the leading prostate cancer surgeons in the world.

"Once I met him, I just thought, this is him. This is the guy I want," Catroneo said.

Catroneo's surgery occurred on Dec. 27, 2006, and it went flawlessly.

He had to wear a catheter for about 10 days, but after it was removed, he didn't suffer any incontinence. He also suffered no erectile dysfunction.

"I was actually having sex within two weeks," he said. "Unbelievable."

He didn't need any follow-up radiation treatment, and the cancer hasn't recurred.

"I feel very blessed," he said. "There are a lot of different factors that will determine what procedure is right for you. I ended up choosing well."

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