. >> reporter: 39-year-old peter campbell had hit rock bottom. >> i was getting ready to start my first treatment for my second bout with cancer. i thought about running out the door. at that moment, i got a text message and it said, i hear you're going through a rough time. >> reporter: the message was from sean. >> i remember him saying one and i'll take you up to climb mount kil t. kilimanjaro with me. he taught me to look at my cancer as a mountain. my mountain being remission. >> reporter: sean kept his promise to peter. in july, with cancer behind them, they trekked, side by side, 19,000 feet, to the top of mt. kilimanjaro. >> we got to make a phone call from the top. my wife kept my kids up. at 1:00 in the morning, i called home and told her, i'm standing at the top of the world. something i'll never forget. >> thank you! >> it made up for the two years i laid in the hospital. surgeries, chemo, puking, not knowing. but it was worth it. >> reporter: sean keeps on climbing. today, it's a different mountain. the empire state building, for run up. 86 floors, more than 1500 steps, all