Jimmy Carter says latest brain scan shows no cancer

KATHLEEN FOODY, Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter says his most recent brain scan showed no signs of cancer.

The former president said in a statement Sunday that he will continue to receive doses of Keytruda, a recently approved auto-immune drug to help his body seek out cancer cells in his body.

Carter said the scan showed no signs of the original cancer "spots" or any new ones.

Carter, 91, announced in August that he had been diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain. Doctors removed a portion of his liver and found four small tumors on his brain.

The former president apparently shared the good news on Sunday with those filling the congregation of Maranatha Baptist Church for one of his regular Sunday school lessons.

"I went to the doctors this week for the second time," Carter said in a video posted on Twitter by NBC. "The first time I went for an MRI of my brain, the four places were still there but they were responding to the treatment. And when I went this week, they didn't find any cancer at all."

Carter smiled slightly as people in the congregation respond with "ah's" and applause.

"So a lot of people prayed for me, and I appreciate that," Carter said.

Jill Stuckey, a church member who helps organize Carter's lessons, said that "our prayers have been answered. I can't think of a better Christmas present."

Carter has remained active, volunteering on a building project with Habitat for Humanity and continuing to work at The Carter Center, the human rights organization he founded after leaving the White House.