Atlanta – Former President Jimmy Carter announced he has been diagnosed with cancer in a brief statement issued Wednesday.
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“Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body,” Carter said in the statement released by the Carter Center. “I will be rearranging my schedule as necessary so I can undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare.”
The statement makes clear that Carter’s cancer is widely spread, but not where it originated, or even if that is known at this point. The liver is often a place where cancer spreads and less commonly is the primary source of it. It said further information will be provided when more facts are known, “possibly next week.”
Carter announced on Aug. 3 that he had surgery to remove a small mass from his liver.
Carter, 90, was the nation’s 39th president. After leaving the White House, he founded the center in Atlanta in 1982 to promote health care, democracy and other issues globally.
He has remained active for the center in recent years, making public appearances at its headquarters in Atlanta and traveling overseas, including a May election observation visit to Guyana cut short when Carter developed a bad cold.
Carter also completed a book tour this summer to promote his latest work, “A Full Life.”
Carter included his family’s history of pancreatic cancer in that memoir, writing that his father, brother and two sisters all died of the disease and said the trend “concerned” the former president’s doctors at Emory.
“The National Institutes of Health began to check all members of our family regularly, and my last remaining sibling, Gloria, sixty-four, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died in 1990,” Carter wrote. “There was no record of another American family having lost four members to this disease, and since that time I have had regular X-rays, CAT scans, or blood analyses, with hope of early detection if I develop the same symptoms.”
Carter wrote that being the only nonsmoker in his family “may have been what led to my longer life.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to President Carter,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
“There’s a lot we don’t know,” but the first task likely will be determining where the cancer originated, as that can help determine what treatment he may be eligible for, Lichtenfeld said. Sometimes the primary site can’t be determined, so genetic analysis of the tumor might be done to see what mutations are driving it and what drugs might target those mutations.
“Given the president’s age, any treatments, their potential and their impacts, will undoubtedly be discussed carefully with him and his family,” he added.
Carter Center spokeswoman Deanna Congileo called the surgery earlier this month “elective” and said Carter’s “prognosis is excellent for a full recovery.” She declined to answer further questions at the time.
An Emory spokesman declined comment Wednesday. The health care system’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta touts its designation as a National Cancer Institute center and a recent ranking among the top 25 cancer programs in the U.S. on its website.
I have never been a fan of the man, but I would never wish cancer on anyone. The statement pretty much says it all and what to expect…I know he believes in his G-d and I hope that it is a comfort to him and the Carter family at this very difficult time.
A vicious anti-semite and an enemy of Israel. He is directly responsible for defeating the Shah of Iran, a true ally of the U.S., and the cause of all the danger coming out of Iran’s crazy government today. Now .he”ll face judgement day
כן יאבדו כל אויביך ד׳
After all he did end the state of war between Egypt and Israel
but then he got a little nuts.
I bet the usual flaming Zionist who reside in America being more loyal to Israel than to this country will come out commenting how happy they are about this news becuase Carter is pro-Arabs. Granted, he doesn’t love Israel and probably doesn’t like Jews in general.
But when it comes to Nixon these flaming Zionists have much a different view. Even though it is known from his recordings that he disliked Jews in America.As long as he helped Israel all is forgiven.And with Kissinger who told Nixon “Soviet Jews Are none of Our Business” but as long he was pro-Israel all is ok.
Regardless of his politics, I’m impressed and inspired by this man or any man his age who is a prolific thinker and writer. Most young adults could not put out a single book in their lifetime. This man in his late 80s started releasing books on global issues and at 90 still has all of his brain cells working. There are 70 year olds who can’t remember what they ate for breakfast but Jimmy Carter still travels the world, conducts interviews, serves on boards of foundations and is sought after for political analysis. Not a bad life for a peanut farmer with nuclear engineering background who as a liberal was a governor of a red-neck conservative state and then ended up being a president.
May you meet all your good dead terrorist freinds of hamas and PLO soon. they must be waiting for you. just dont forget to bring some ice cubes because it will be quite hot there for you,
The man has a visceral obsession with Israel. He is a cancer.
Acancer has cancer.
#13 , I can’t wait to hear about Obama’s many accomplishments. Please check in with us in 30 years when the history is fully revised.
Without a doubt the best ex-president the United States ever had.
It would appear as though some commenters here have never sat down with Sefer Mishlei. Which is a shame really because it’s such a beautiful Sefer that offers us so much. I’ll transliterate since not everyone’s computers display Hebrew so well.
Mishei chaf daled, possuk yud zayin says “B’nfol oivecha al tismach, u’vcushlo al yagel libecha” And then it follows with possuk yud ches which says “Pen yir’eh Hashem v’ra b’einav, v’heishiv m’alav apo.”
I would suggest to those breaking out the champagne to please read those pesukim and try to internalize what Shlomo HaMelech was saying.
You don’t like the guy, great, neither do I, neither do a lot of people. But it is not our way to celebrate someone’s misfortune, regardless of who they are.
this news made my day. Make sure you dont get treated by any Jews whom you hate, Jimmy.
At 90 to get cancer big deal so he won’t live to much longer anyway too bad it didn’t happen earlier in life,Russia what he is!
What a great man he was. My brother (PaulinSaudi) and I will truly miss him.
Will he or Obama go down in history as the worst president the US ever had??
May he live to be 90
Is Carter a virulent antisemite? No. I don’t believe he is.
Is Carter 100% anti-Israel? You bet he is.
We need to keep that in mind. He has worked very hard against Jewish interests for decades and that cannot be overlooked.
However, it is unfair and dishonest to judge his life on that alone. His commitment to the homeless, to fighting disease and hunger, and to Habitat for Humanity cannot be ignored. During one of the most gluttonous, self-indulgent periods in history, his commitment to helping his fellow Americans in need must be respected and admired.
I don’t want to sugar-coat the things he has done to damage Israel’s place in the world and make Israel less safe. However, being that he is in the final years of his life, I am choosing to focus on the multitude of people he helped, and hope that those works will be seen favorably by H”. May he have a speedy and complete recovery such that may carry on helping others in need.