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Jimmy Carter says cancer has spread to his brain

David Jackson
USA TODAY

Former president Jimmy Carter said Thursday he will fight the cancer that has spread to parts of his brain and will receive his first radiation treatment later in the day.

Examinations that began with the discovery of cancer during liver surgery have revealed "four spots of melanoma on my brain," Carter told a news conference at his presidential center in Atlanta.

Former president Jimmy Carter gives the media an update on his recent cancer diagnosis at the Carter Center in Atlanta on Aug. 20, 2015.

"It's in the hands God, whom I worship, and I'll be prepared for anything that comes," Carter said. "I'm ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure."

The nation's 39th president told reporters he had hoped the cancer would be confined to his liver, and at one point believed he had only "a few weeks left." Carter repeatedly said he is now "at ease" with the diagnosis, and is sustained by his family and religious faith.

"I've had a wonderful life," Carter said. "I've had thousands of friends."

The 90-year-old ex-president, whose volunteer activities have ranged from building houses to monitoring elections to helping develop impoverished nations, said the illness will force him to cut back "fairly dramatically" on his work with the Carter Center, though he will continue to raise money for the center and oversee some of its activities.

Since announcing last week that he had cancer, Carter said he has spoken with presidential colleagues Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, as well as Vice President Biden and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. After the news conference, Obama tweeted that Carter "is as good a man as they come. Michelle and I are praying for him and Rosalynn. We're all pulling for you, Jimmy."

Facing the ordeal with cheer and good humor, Carter said he has had only slight pain, and "I haven't felt any weakness or debility."

After Thursday's radiation, Carter said he will have four more treatments to be scheduled at three-week intervals.

A former peanut farmer who became governor of Georgia, Carter won the presidency in 1976 after one of the most surprising long-shot campaigns in political history. After one term beset by economic problems, poor relations with Congress, and a hostage crisis in Iran, Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan.

A botched rescue mission to Iran marred Carter's final year in office. During his news conference, Carter said that "I wish I had sent one more helicopter to get the hostages out," and that a successful rescue would have re-elected him.

Carter's presidency is remembered for a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, and his emphasis on human rights in foreign policy. He is credited with restoring integrity to the presidency after the traumas of Vietnam and Watergate.

Asked about the Middle East today, Carter said he still hopes to see peace between Israel and her neighbors, tough the prospects at present seem dismal. "The whole process is practically dormant," he said.

Since leaving the White House, Carter's volunteer work across the world has redefined the role of former presidents. He said cancer was discovered during an exam that followed a cold he contracted while monitoring elections in Guyana.

Carter announced last week that "recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body." In a written statement, the ex-president said, "I will be rearranging my schedule as necessary so I can undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare."

Speaking with reporters Thursday, Carter said he hopes his battle with cancer will inspire other patients to confront disease with hope and patience.

"Hope for the best," Carter said. "And accept what comes."

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