Jimmy Carter: Melanoma Has Spread to Brain
Jimmy Carter: Melanoma Has Spread to Brain
Aug. 20, 2015 -- Former President Jimmy Carter outlined Thursday an aggressive course of treatment that he'll follow to attack the melanoma that was discovered in his liver and has spread to his brain.
In a remarkably candid and detailed press conference, Carter, 90, talked about his plan to fight the cancer, his mood, and how his family and friends have handled the news.
In addition to a radiation treatment to his brain, which he said would have later Thursday, he's receiving a new drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), to boost his immune system's ability to fight the disease. He said he'd have four drug treatments at 3-week intervals.
He said he anticipates more cancer will be found.
"It's in the hands of God," Carter said. "I'll be prepared for anything that comes."
"I'm looking forward to a new adventure,” said the former president, who has become known for his humanitarian work in the years since leaving the White House.
Carter said he’d received numerous well wishes from across the nation, including from President Barack Obama, former president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, and both former Presidents Bush.
Carter said a tumor on his liver was discovered in May, after he cut short a trip to Guyana because he wasn’t feeling well. He said he had a “bad cold,” but he got a health check that revealed the mass.
Doctors at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital removed the 1-inch mass in his liver in August, taking about one-tenth of his liver, Carter said.
A biopsy revealed that the cancer was melanoma. He says his doctors suspect the cancer started elsewhere in his body and spread to his liver, but they don’t know -- and may never find out -- where it originated.
An additional MRI of his head and neck revealed four spots of melanoma on his brain. Once cancer has spread as extensively as his has, it is classified as stage IV.
Asked how he felt when he heard the diagnosis, Carter said, “At first I felt that it was confined to my liver and that the operation had completely removed it, so I felt quite relieved. Then that same afternoon we had an MRI of my head and neck and it showed that it was already in four places in my brain, so I would say that night and the next day until I came back up to Emory, I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease. I’ve had a wonderful life.
In a remarkably candid and detailed press conference, Carter, 90, talked about his plan to fight the cancer, his mood, and how his family and friends have handled the news.
In addition to a radiation treatment to his brain, which he said would have later Thursday, he's receiving a new drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), to boost his immune system's ability to fight the disease. He said he'd have four drug treatments at 3-week intervals.
He said he anticipates more cancer will be found.
"It's in the hands of God," Carter said. "I'll be prepared for anything that comes."
"I'm looking forward to a new adventure,” said the former president, who has become known for his humanitarian work in the years since leaving the White House.
Carter said he’d received numerous well wishes from across the nation, including from President Barack Obama, former president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, and both former Presidents Bush.
Carter said a tumor on his liver was discovered in May, after he cut short a trip to Guyana because he wasn’t feeling well. He said he had a “bad cold,” but he got a health check that revealed the mass.
Doctors at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital removed the 1-inch mass in his liver in August, taking about one-tenth of his liver, Carter said.
A biopsy revealed that the cancer was melanoma. He says his doctors suspect the cancer started elsewhere in his body and spread to his liver, but they don’t know -- and may never find out -- where it originated.
An additional MRI of his head and neck revealed four spots of melanoma on his brain. Once cancer has spread as extensively as his has, it is classified as stage IV.
Asked how he felt when he heard the diagnosis, Carter said, “At first I felt that it was confined to my liver and that the operation had completely removed it, so I felt quite relieved. Then that same afternoon we had an MRI of my head and neck and it showed that it was already in four places in my brain, so I would say that night and the next day until I came back up to Emory, I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease. I’ve had a wonderful life.
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