The hundreds who packed the pews of Maranatha Baptist Church on Sunday came to hear former President Jimmy Carter teach one of his regular Bible study lessons. They also were a part of a breaking news story: Carter’s revelation that a recent brain scan found no signs of cancer.
As our AJC colleague Jill Vejnoska first reported this morning, Carter said his most recent brain scan didn’t find any signs of the original cancer spots or any new ones. He also plans to continue his treatment, which includes regular doses of a recently approved auto-immune drug called Keytruda. The drug is designed to unleash the immune system to fight cancer.
An NBC crew was at the Plains church this morning and it caught the moment when Carter updated the crowd on his health - and the gasps and cheers that followed.
"I went to the doctors this week for the second time. The first time I went for an MRI of my brain, the four places were still there but they were responding to the treatment," he said.
"When I went [for an MRI] this week they didn't find any cancer at all," Carter said. "So I have good news. So a lot of people prayed for me, and I appreciate that."
Back in August, after Jimmy Carter revealed the extent of his cancer, his grandson James Carter said he came to a hard truth when he learned the news.
“I realized he was mortal,” he said back then. “I knew, somewhere, that logically he wasn’t going to be around forever. But it’s strange to think about him being sick in any way. If anyone has led a full life up to this point, it would be him.”
On Sunday, as news broke about his grandfather’s cancer-free diagnosis, James had a different response.
“See? I knew he wasn’t really human.”
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