Jimmy Carter said Sunday that doctors believe his brain cancer has disappeared. The former U.S. president revealed the news at his church in Plains, Georgia, as he began teaching a Sunday School class.
Carter, 91, said he got the call this week saying the latest brain scan showed cancer "is gone." The 350 people in his class at Maranatha Baptist Church erupted in applause.
"My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones," Carter said in a written statement released later Sunday. "I will continue to receive regular 3-week immunotherapy treatments of pembrolizumab."
Pembrolizumab is a drug used to treat cancer that "cannot be removed by surgery or that has metastasized (spread to other parts of the body)," according to the National Cancer Institute website.
Carter announced at a news conference in August that doctors found four melanoma lesions on his brain after removing a cancerous lesion on his liver. He said he was "prepared for anything that comes." The 39th president of the United States told reporters on August 20, 2015 that he had "very small spots" on his brain.
"It is in the hands of God, whom I worship," Carter, 90, said a news conference at the Carter Center a week after revealing he was diagnosed with cancer that had spread from his liver other areas. "I've had a wonderful life. I'm ready for anything and I'm looking forward to new adventure."
The Atlanta news conference, which lasted 40 minutes, came a week after Carter released a short statement revealing his cancer diagnosis. "Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body, Carter's written statement said. "I will be rearranging my schedule as necessary so I can undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare," he said in his initial statement.
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