SAN ANTONIO – From the moment that an irregular bulge was spotted on one of his football pictures by his parents, Javonate “Boogie” Carter has had to fight this offseason.
Back in March, Boogie and his parents went to the doctors to look at an enlarged lymph node in his left groin area. The doctors shared that the bulge was not a hernia; it would need to be operated on.
The doctors tested the removed area and came back to share with the family that it came back positive for Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL), a cancer of the lymph nodes.
“So we gave them the news, and we let them know that overall, with the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the prognosis is pretty good with more people, over 90%, achieving cure,” said Dr. Ricky Rodriguez. “And we explained the process to them of chemotherapy and getting additional imaging for staging.”
Boogie said he “really didn’t believe it.”
“I wanted to go somewhere else and get more testing done, but after I talked to some people, they all got my mind focused and how everything’s going to be, so I was just going into the battle thinking everything’s going to be good,” Boogie said.
“It was rough,” said Boogie’s father, Isaac Carter. “I think I was in shock, yeah, I thought I was dreaming. It was definitely devastating to hearing that your child has that diagnosis, so it was really hard. Just like my wife said.”
“I looked dead at Dr. Rodriguez and I said, ‘I’m going to trust and believe in you, because I know you got this,’” said Boogie’s mother, Bridget Carter.
Just like with playing football, the doctors at CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital came up with a game plan to put Boogie on the right path to curing his cancer.
“After you get the biopsy, you walk them through the next phase, which is chemotherapy,” said Dr. Daniela Bennett.
“They said I had to start chemotherapy, but I didn’t know what chemo was; I just knew it had something to do with cancer,” Boogie said. “I just looked at my parents, and they were like, ‘We’re going to be good.’”
During his toughest rounds of chemotherapy, his friends, family and even the Vanderbilt University football team, which his older brother Dontae Carter is a member of, were all there to support him.
The team made a video for him, sharing how much they love him and are going to be there for him during his fight with cancer.
Love all yall friends and family thank all for the love and support @DontaeCarter15 @BCarter1911 @VandyFootball #carterstrong pic.twitter.com/F1tWF1tBZm
— Javontae carter (@Jboogie7v7) March 22, 2025
“I woke up one morning and I just saw my phone blowing up, and I started looking at it and I just started tearing up, I didn’t know they were going to do that, it was just like, it just boosted me,” said Boogie. “I felt like I needed to do more to get better.”
“Seeing them do that for me and do that for my family, they always checking in on my family ... all those guys reaching out to my family on a daily basis, that means a lot to me,” said Boogie’s brother and Vanderbilt safety Dontae Carter. “That’s what I call a true brother, and that’s what we go by here at Vanderbilt, so I’m just thankful to be around these guys.”
After three months of treatment, a scan came back that showed Boogie had beaten the cancer, and he was able to set up his ringing of the bell ceremony.
“When I noticed I fought the cancer, I noticed I could fight through a lot of things,” said Boogie. “Cancer is probably one of the hardest things I’ve been through in my life, so I noticed if I could beat that, I could beat more things.”
What was the celebration like, and how did he feel after the ringing of the bell ceremony?
“I just felt like a new person, got with all my family, we all celebrated and I’m just trying to stay cancer-free,” Boogie said.
Boogie is now training to enter his eighth-grade year of football before going to Byron P. Steele High School in the fall of 2026.
Read also: