Jimmy Carter Battles Cancer With 'Humor and Impatience'

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Former President Jimmy Carter recently underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver, and continued treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, BBC reported. Unfortunately, CNN reports that according to Carter, "recent liver surgery revealed that [he has] cancer that now is in other parts of [his] body."

The 90-year-old told Larry King in an interview in 2008 that several members of his family died of pancreatic cancer. In the U.S., liver cancer afflicts men more than women. The American Cancer Society notes that this year, an estimated 35,660 new cases (25,510 in men and 10,150 in women) will be diagnosed and 24,550 people (17,030 men and 7,520 women) will die due to liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer.

President Obama wished Carter well in an official statement, TODAY Online reports. The President said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Rosalynn and the entire Carter family as they face this challenge with the same grace and determination that they have shown so many times before. Jimmy, you’re as resilient as they come, and along with the rest of America, we are rooting for you."

Other political figures took to Twitter to express their support, including Speaker John Boehner, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and members of the cabinet.

Carter's White House communications director Gerald Rafshoon, who has been in touch with the former president since his announcement about his health, told People, "Don't be sad for Jimmy. Feel sorry for the doctor and the nurses who have to keep him from getting up and going to work."

He adds that Carter is in "good spirits" and is "feisty". Rafshoon shared, "Nothing about Jimmy has changed with this diagnosis and I cannot believe that Jimmy Carter is going down for the count anytime soon. Now he just knows what this next year's book is going to be about."

Carter, who is also a prolific author and global activist, recently released his 29th book titled "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety". The author, who also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, wrote about his political views and hopes for the United States in the book.

He told the L.A. Times, "My hope is that our leaders will capitalize on our country's most admirable qualities. We need to be a Superpower as a champion of peace, not war... We need to be the most generous country in the world; the most dedicated to the essence of democracy and freedom."

Carter added that writing excites him because he gets to share his views and go on book tours to engage with his audience. He admitted, "When I write a book, it gives me a unique chance to speak out around the nation. Going on book tour is the best chance I get to express my views to a pretty wide audience."

While there are no book tours scheduled yet due to his illness, Simon & Schuster's official publisher's page regularly provides updates here.