Why President Carter's Melanoma Announcement Was Groundbreaking

Former President Jimmy Carter announced in a press conference Thursday that cancer has spread to his brain, and that he will be receiving radiation over the next few months to treat it.  With candor that's typical for Carter, but remarkable compared to how other American presidents have announced illnesses, the former president described that he first sought treatment for a bad cold in May. Instead, doctors found a mass on his liver that turned out to be melanoma. Surgeons removed the cancer, as well as about one-tenth of his liver, in an operation August 3, but discovered that the cancer had spread to his brain. These four lesions, measuring about two millimeters, were treated with radiation on August 20 and then again every three weeks. Carter is also receiving a drug that enhances his immune system.  “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” said Carter. “I do have deep religious faith, which I’m very grateful for, and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t go into an attitude of despair or anger or anything like that. I was just completely at ease. “I’m looking forward to a new adventure,” he added.  (function(){var src_url="https://spshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?playList=519027675&height=381&width=570&sid=577&origin=SOLR&videoGroupID=155847&relatedNumOfResults=100&responsive=false&relatedMode=2&relatedBottomHeight=60&companionPos=&hasCompanion=false&autoStart=false&colorPallet=%23FFEB00&v...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news