Former US president Jimmy Carter said he has cancerous tumors on his brain and will begin radiation treatment Thursday.
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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.
More good news: According to both doctors, despite suffering from tumors in his brain, Carter shouldn’t experience any cognitive changes.
“It’s in the hands God, whom I worship, and I’ll be prepared for anything that comes”, Carter said.
For some melanoma patients, and possibly Carter, the path to it may be indelibly inscribed in their genome, bearing a link to another hard form of cancer, said Dr. Craig Devoe, acting chief of hematology and oncology at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System’s Monter Cancer Center. In August, doctors removed a tenth of the organ – the growth did turn out to be malignant – and, suspecting it might have originated elsewhere, did an MRI and found melanoma on his brain. The treatment will be his “top priority” hence, he must dramatically hold back on his busy schedule. In addition, he said, doctors have given him an intravenous drug to complement his treatment for melanoma that enhances the activity of the immune system. “We’re not looking for cure in patients who have a disease like melanoma that’s spread”, he said.
And then, just as Carter efficiently completed this thought, my time was up!
While Carter’s four years in the White House are viewed differently by Democrats and Republicans, no one questions his ongoing commitment to improving lives through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. Carter said it’s rare that melanoma is found internally in the body and not on the skin. His mother had breast cancer, which later spread to her pancreas.
“If he can’t make it”, said Reckford, “we will be there building in his honor”. “I’ll do what the doctors recommend for me to extend my life as much as possible”, he said. Carter’s brother, Billy, died at 51 of pancreatic cancer in 1988.
Carter also noted that his strength lies in his deep religious belief, and he pledged to continue teaching Sunday school at his church “as long as I’m physically able”. He will have some new, effective treatment options at his disposal that have only been approved in the previous year.
He shares four children with his wife, Rosalynn, who he Wednesday on July 7, 1946.
So far, the pain has been “very slight” and Carter said he hasn’t felt any weakness or debility. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, helped defuse nuclear tensions in the Koreas and helped avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti.
But Carter joked Thursday that the former first lady, 88, was finally now getting him to slow down. He said on Thursday he intends to teach this weekend, as scheduled.
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He and his wife have thought for many years about cutting back their work at the Carter Center, which he established in 1982 to promote health care and democracy.
