For now, he noted that his cancer treatment will become his “top priority”.
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Carter said that after the cancer in his brain was diagnosed, he initially thought he was nearing the end of his life, but was still at ease. “I didn’t go into an attitude of much despair or anger or anything like that”, he said. Carter rebuilt his career as a humanitarian. But he cautioned against the idea that Carter can be “cured”.
“They have not found cancer on my pancreas, only my liver and my brain”, said Carter, whose brother, father and two sisters all died from pancreatic cancer.
Pavlick said only 40 percent of patients respond to Keytruda, but those who do can survive for many years with the cancer held in check by the immune system.
In an ideal world, Carter has offered a model of how to use this role to advocate for certain ideas and to actually be involved in public policymaking outside of the partisan sphere. He joked with reporters and smiled often, his Georgia drawl still pronounced as he spoke. “I’m looking forward to a new adventure”.
At the press conference, when asked what would give him the most satisfaction to see in the time he has left, he replied, “I would say peace for Israel and its neighbors”.
Carter’s next few months are in flux.
Former President Jimmy Carter plans to discuss his recent cancer diagnosis for the first time since announcing his illness.
“If this was five years ago, we probably would have told him ‘you’ve got six months to live, ‘” Pavlick said.
More good news: According to both doctors, despite suffering from tumors in his brain, Carter shouldn’t experience any cognitive changes.
Carter’s sanguine acceptance of his prognosis seems to lie in his deep religious belief, and he pledged to continue teaching Sunday school at his church “as long as I’m physically able”.
Carter also says he will cut back “fairly dramatically” on his work at the Carter Center.
Carter said the radiation will focus on the tumors in his brain, and he has already begun receiving a drug – approved by the FDA in February – to boost his immune system.
The 90-year-old had a significant book tour planned this year to promote his latest memoir, “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety“, but decided to rearrange his schedule to fit in the treatment.
Sometimes Carter has proven to be an ally to presidents as they seek to achieve hard goals overseas.
After a small cancerous mass was removed last August 3, 2015 along with about a tenth of his liver, his doctors believe they got rid of all the cancer there, Carter said. Doctors performed a complete physical examination and found the tumor on his liver. But, he said, that may have interfered with the Carter Center and if he had to choose between a second term and the Carter Center, he’d pick the Carter Center.
Speaking with reporters Thursday, Carter said he hopes his battle with cancer will inspire other patients to confront disease with hope and patience. In addition to his brain, the former President’s cancer also spread to his liver.
Carter was the nation’s 39th president, defeating Gerald Ford in 1976.
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Since leaving the White House in 1981, Carter has remade the post-presidency.
