Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday, Dec. 6 that he has no signs of cancer anymore. The announcement was made in front of church goers at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Carter's hometown in Plains, Georgia.
Jill Stuckey, a member of the church said the day started as a typical one, with Carter and his wife Rosalyn, entering the premises filled with about 300 people for Sunday school. Carter then told the attendees that his recent MRI scans showed no signs of cancer at all. The crowd applauded and the place suddenly became jubilant.
"When I went this week, they didn't find any cancer at all, so I have good news," Carter said to the people. Prior to the latest imaging test, he said doctors detected four cancerous tumors but were all responding to treatment.
Other tests performed at the Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, where he is receiving care, have not been identified.
Carter, 91, will still continue his treatment of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a new drug that specifically boosts the immune system to combat cancer. The immunotherapy medicine is made by Merck & Co.
In August 2015, Carter said that he was diagnosed with melanoma in the liver. When he had a small portion of his liver surgically removed, the doctors found the four new spots in the brain, which were treated by Keytruda every three weeks.
Dr. Marc Ernstoff from Cleveland Clinic's Taussig Cancer Institute said that despite the 30 percent rate of people exhibiting significant reduction in cancer size, only about five percent are able to completely recover. Immunotherapy, however, typically prolongs the life of cancer patients by about 1.5 years on the average.
"But people that are in complete remission tend to live significantly longer," said Ernstoff, who is not involved in the medical team treating Carter.
Despite Carter's condition, he continued to render public service. He stayed an active volunteer of Habitat for Humanity and persisted to work at The Carter Center, a human rights group that he established after his presidential stint.
When the former democratic president and Sunday school teacher was first diagnosed with cancer, he said his fate was in God's hands.
Photo: John Ramspott | Flickr
