The Brief
- After being diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, Orange County resident Frank Carter underwent CAR T-cell therapy at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and is now cancer-free.
- Once in remission, the lifelong adventurer built his own canoe and paddled 2,341 miles down the Missouri River with his dog, Amos.
- Today, Carter shares his story to encourage other cancer patients to stay hopeful and keep moving forward.
TAMPA, Fla. – Frank Carter has always chased adventure. But after a cancer diagnosis threatened to change everything, the Orange County man found a new purpose. Thanks to a groundbreaking treatment at Tampa‘s Moffitt Cancer Center, Carter not only beat cancer, he went on to complete the adventure of a lifetime alongside his four-legged best friend.
Moffitt Cancer Center therapy
What we know:
In his 60s, Carter had already spent months hiking the Appalachian Trail and cycled across the country when his health suddenly took a turn after a 5K race in 2021.
“I was wiped out. I just wasn’t recovering,” Carter said. “I went to my doctor, had blood tests. Long story short, in two weeks I was getting chemo.”
Doctors diagnosed him with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare type of blood cancer that forms in white blood cells called lymphocytes.…