Former president Jimmy Carter says cancer has spread to his brain

Showing an incredible amount of optimism for a 90-year-old man facing cancer, former president Jimmy Carter detailed his health situation while addressing reporters Thursday from the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Biggest regret: Not sending “one more helicopter”, which could have possibly turned the failed attempt to rescue the 52 American hostages in Iran into a success – thereby rescuing his presidency.

Doctors not involved in treating Carter have said those characteristics could determine Carter’s options for treating the cancer.

Agus commended Carter for even announcing his cancer diagnosis.

That tumor has been removed, but more scans showed melanoma on his brain.

Carter is the second-oldest living president separated by just over 100 days in age from former president George H.W. Bush. His mother had breast cancer, which later spread to her pancreas.

New medications, including the drug pembroluzimab, with which Carter will be treated, aim to keep the immune system from turning off. Lichtenfeld said such therapies, first presented in 2010, were the first new drugs for melanoma since the 1970s.

Carter said he originally thought he might have only “a few weeks left” to live when he first learned of the diagnosis. When the couple is in Plains, Carter frequently teaches a Sunday School class before services at Maranatha Baptist Church.

Carter explained that in May, he had gone to Guyana to monitor elections but fell ill with a bad cold and cut his trip short.

It was a landslide victory for the 40th president and Carter had to rebuild his career thereafter. “I think it’s about the best sleep I’ve had in many years”, he said.

Melanoma is the most risky form of skin cancer, but it’s curable if caught early enough, said Dr. David Agus, an oncologist and professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.

Carter entered a news conference at the nonprofit Carter Center bearing his name in Atlanta walking normally, smiling, and wearing blue jeans. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He added that he was not feeling any weakness or debility.

In cases like Carter’s, Tarhini said, the priority should be to control the brain metastases because they can continue to grow and lead to complications such as brain bleeds, strokes or seizures.

Carter, now 90, was in fact preparing for his initial radiation treatment on his brain later Thursday afternoon. I have deep religious faith, which I’m very grateful for, and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t go into an attitude of despair or anger or anything like that.

So far the former president says he feels good and has had very little pain.

“I’m an acquiescent and cooperating patient, and within the bounds of my judgment, I will do what the doctors recommend to extend my life as much as possible”, he said.

“This is a propitious time for us to follow through on our long-delayed plans”, he said.

President Carter said he and his wife, Rosalynn, will be cutting back their involvement at Emory and the Carter Center dramatically moving forward.