WASHINGTON — On Thursday, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter announced that his melanoma has spread to his brain.
“I’m ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure,” he said during a news conference.
Carter said he’s felt only slight pain so far, and hasn’t experienced any weakness or debility. However, he plans to cut back on his work with the Carter Center and will focus on treatment.
“I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence,” said Carter, 90. “So I was surprisingly at ease, much more so than my wife was. But now I feel it’s in the hands of God who I worship and I’ll be prepared for anything that comes.”
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer, but it’s curable if caught early enough, said Dr. David Agus, an oncologist and professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.
In an interview with WTOP, Agus pointed to new medication that allows immune cells to eat cancerous cells. Forty to 50 percent of those who took the treatment “had dramatic responses that can last a year or two,” he said.
“It was a death sentence, and now through progress and technology and drugs, it’s hopefully becoming more of a life sentence,” Agus said.
Still, metastatic melanoma is serious and aggressive, said Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News’ chief health and medical editor. That form of melanoma is also most likely to go to your brain. And while Carter is 90, he’s still healthy enough to fight the disease, Besser said.
“He has led and continues to lead a very active life,” he said, adding that the former president likely has the immune system of a younger person fighting the disease.
Agus commended Carter for even announcing his cancer diagnosis. Presidents and former presidents typically don’t mention their health issues, so Carter doing so is a nice step forward.
“I think there’s some merit in him doing that,” Agus said. “He’s demystifying the field and becoming a role model for others.”
As for the rest of us, it’s time to get proactive.
“All of us need to look at our skin,” Agus concluded. “We need to get naked once a month and look in the mirror. And if you start to see changes, talk to your doctor about them.”
