INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Jimmy Carter Reveals Cancer Has Spread To His Brain

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 03:23 PST, Aug 20, 2015

Former president Jimmy Carter spoke publicly regarding his cancer diagnosis on Thursday, revealing that the disease has spread to his brain.

Appearing at a news conference in Atlanta, Carter said that he would begin radiation treatment for melanoma spots on his brain on Thursday afternoon, according to NBC News. Doctors have identified four spots on Carter’s brain, after he had a mass removed from his liver on August 3. The former president, who is 90-years-old, has learned that that mass was also melanoma.

Saying he would be “prepared for anything that comes,” Carter reflected that he at one point believed he had only weeks to live.

“I just thought I had a few weeks left. But I was surprisingly at ease. I’ve had a wonderful life, I’ve had thousands of friends, and I’ve had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence. So I was surprisingly at ease.”

Carter noted that he believes other cancers will be detected as his treatment takes its course. His family has a history of pancreatic cancer, which claimed the lives of Carter’s father, sisters, and brother. Astonishingly, the former president’s mother also battled the disease.

Though he has remained extremely active since leaving the Oval Office, Carter admitted that his treatment would necessitate that he cut back “fairly dramatically” on his work with the Carter Center, as USA Today notes. He intends to continue with light duties, however, attending a select group of meetings and signing letters, among other tasks.

Carter first revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer last week, as the Inquisitr previously reported. Since that time, he has spoken with many of his current and former colleagues, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have also spoken with Carter since his diagnosis was made public.

Admitting that he “can’t really anticipate” how he will be feeling in the wake of his cancer treatments, Carter nonetheless cited his spiritual beliefs and faith as a factor that has sustained him over the last few weeks.

“Now I feel it’s in the hands of God.”

The nation’s 39th president, Jimmy Carter will be treated by physicians at Emory Healthcare.

[Photo by Andrew Burton / Getty Images]

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