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A 67-year-old cancer survivor from Orange County, Florida, completed a more than 2,000-mile trek down the Missouri River alongside her dog, Amos, after undergoing immunotherapy.
Frank Carter spent 64 days navigating the longest river in the US in a hand-hewn cedar boat, according to reports from the Moffitt Cancer Center and FOX 13 News.
This trip started in Montana and ended near St. Louis, Missouri, required the pair to stay on the edge of the riverbank while enduring strong storms, high winds and hail, FOX 13 News reported.
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Before his diagnosis, Carter was an avid hiker. According to the Moffitt Cancer Center, he spent five months riding the Appalachian Trail in 2019 and completed an eight-week cross-country bike ride from San Diego to New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in 2020.
However, his physical limits were tested in a new way in 2021 following a regular 5K race.
Frank Carter, a 67-year-old cancer survivor from Orange County, Florida, paddled 2,341 miles down the Missouri River over 64 days with his golden retriever, Amos. (UCG/Universal Images Group via G)
“I was devastated. I wasn't recovering,” Carter told FOX 13 News. “I went to my doctor, I had a blood test. Long story short, in two weeks I was getting chemo.”
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Doctors diagnosed Carter with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer that originates from white blood cells known as lymphocytes. He underwent 15 rounds of chemotherapy in Orlando, according to the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Carter hand-built a cedar boat (not pictured) for the trip, and now shares her story to inspire other patients to stay active and positive. (Stock)
Although the treatment significantly reduced the cancer, follow-up tests showed traces of the disease.
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Carter then sought care at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which involves removing a patient's own immune cells, genetically modifying them in a laboratory to recognize cancer cells, and reintroducing them into the body.
Doctors treated Carter with CAR T-cell therapy, a groundbreaking immunotherapy that genetically modifies a patient's T-cells to attack cancer, leaving him cancer-free for four years. (Stock)
“We take those T-cells and genetically engineer them with something called a CAR,” Dr. Michael Jain, an oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, told FOX 13 News. “Now these T-cells are able to recognize the tumor and eliminate it, where the tumor was able to hide.”
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Carter has been cancer-free for four years following a single infusion. Throughout his recovery, he received constant support from his dog, Amos, who he brought home just before he began chemotherapy.
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“After I was diagnosed with cancer, I told myself I was going to beat it, and I really wanted a dog during the show,” Carter told Moffitt's Endeavor publication. “I found Amos just before my first treatment.”
