Ex-President Jimmy Carter says his cancer is gone

The former president said in a statement that he will continue to receive doses of Keytruda, a recently approved auto-immune drug to help his body seek out cancer cells in his body.

“So many cancer treatments can be effective in the short-term, causing tumors to shrink”, he said.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society says that’s because the drugs keep a patient’s immune system from shutting down. Mr. Carter said he is appreciative of all who prayed for him. The brief statement from the Carter Center revealed he has been receiving a new immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab.

“If Carter is indeed cancer-free, his response to Keytruda has been better than that of most patients in the clinical trial that led the FDA to approve the drug”.

“It’s like getting the biggest Christmas gift that you could ever want”, said Jan Williams, another close Carter friend who spends the hour before Carter’s class humorously instructing visitors on the do’s-and-don’ts of being around their famous teacher. “At President Carter’s age, it’s very likely he’s going to enjoy an excellent quality of life”.

Doctors will continue to scan Carter’s brain and the rest of his body to ensure the disease hasn’t spread, Johnson said. Instead, they may say things like, “The cancer can’t be seen on the scan” or “I see no evidence of any cancer”.

Former US president Jimmy Carter has told his church in his native Georgia state that he is free of cancer. The 91-year-old made the announcement during his Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church. When he had a small portion of his liver surgically removed, the doctors found the four new spots in the brain, which were treated by Keytruda every three weeks. “So that part of it has been a relief to me and I think to the doctors”.

He has remained active, despite telling reporters in August that he would scale back on work at The Carter Center, the human rights organization he founded after leaving the White House.