Jimmy Carter says cancer is gone

Carter notes that he missed various classes in May and June. While these therapies can kill cancers – which grow rapidly – they also kill normal growing cells, such as the cells lining the gut.

Carter, 91, will still continue his treatment of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a new drug that specifically boosts the immune system to combat cancer. Tumor cells make PD-L1 turn on PD-1 when immune cells approach. These drugs interfere with that process, so, by interfering with that shutdown process, they allow the immune system to do its job.

“When I went in this week, they did not find any cancer at all, so I have good news”, said the former president to a congregation of about 350 who followed with applause.

It’s unusual, but not unheard of. At that point, his melanoma had spread to his brain and liver. “One hopes that by using immunotherapy the body can respond to whatever happens but cancer cells are clever and can develop workarounds for the various treatments”. It nearly always comes back. It was approved after a huge study showed Keytruda could shrink the tumors in about a third of patients by as much as 90 percent.

Dr. Antoni Ribas of the University of California Los Angeles led that trial.

At a recent American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting, Saltz estimated the total cost to treat all metastatic cancer patients in the United States would be an “unsustainable” $174 billion per year. And what the Keytruda did is it turned on the immune system to act against those tumors. Thomas went from being in a wheelchair to walking three miles a day. There are some patients who don’t have any side effects at all. Lisa Bonchek Adams, who died in March from metastatic breast cancer, expressed this beautifully in her poem “When I Die”.

“Our mission is to accelerate the development of new therapies by taking the unique skills and unequaled expertise that has been cultivated at START and expanding it to other strategic locations around the world”, he said.

Carter will continue to receive the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab every three weeks. As understandable as this testimonial is, offered from a loving grandson, it’s exactly the kind of language that’s harmful to cancer patients. “I missed two lessons because toward the end of May (and) first of June it was found that I had cancer, so they removed part of my liver”.

Oncologists are concerned about giving chemotherapy drugs to older cancer patients because of the toxicity issues, which can cause nausea and fatigue.