Jimmy Carter is Cancer

Earlier on Sunday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Carter had announced to a Sunday School class he teaches at his church in Plains, Georgia that his cancer was gone.

When Jimmy Carter announced in August that cancer had been found in his liver and brain, he said he would “do what the doctors recommend” to try and extend his life. “I have got thousands of friends and I have had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence”, Carter said. Three days after the announcement, Carter was teaching Sunday school per his usual routine. Former President Carter said Sunday that no cancer was detected in his latest scan.

Carter has said in interviews that he lost about five pounds, but otherwise tolerated the treatments well. Meanwhile, pembrolizumab, which rallies the body’s own immune system to fight the cancer, was being hailed as a possible game-changer. Only this time, he came away with some good news. To obtain a clean scan such as Carter’s so soon after initially discovering evidence of the spread of the disease however remains comparatively rare.

“When I went (for an MRI) this week they didn’t find any cancer at all”, Carter told those in attendance.

Doctors treated Carter’s lesions with stereotactic radiation therapy, delivering a strong beam of radiation directly to the four tiny spots instead of applying radiation to the entire brain, which might be less effective and could cause significant cognitive impairment.

“For today, the news can not be better”, he said.

In this 2014 photo, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks during a forum in Boston.

As mentioned above, Carter will continue the course of Keytruda every three weeks.

Citing Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, the Associated Press reports that doctors did not detect any cancer during his previous scan.

Carter has remained active during treatment, including a home-building project with Habitat for Humanity and work at The Carter Center, the human rights organization he founded after leaving the White House.