Former President Jimmy Carter told an audibly relieved church congregation Sunday that he no longer needs cancer treatments and is ending them.
Carter, 91, announced in August that he had a mass removed from his liver. The mass turned out to be melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.
Carter underwent treatment with a new drug, Keytruda, and in December he said at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where he frequently teaches Sunday school, that the cancer had disappeared.
Sunday, Carter told the congregation that a magnetic resonance imaging scan showed that "I didn't need any more treatment, so I'm not going to have any more treatments."
Applause and an audible sigh of relief could be heard across the sanctuary when Carter announced the good news. Carter said he'd continue to be monitored and that "if a cancer shows up again, I'll start getting treatments again."
The service was held before Carter learned about the death of former first lady Nancy Reagan. In a statement later, he said, "America and the Reagan family have lost a woman of grace and strength."
"A woman of strength and wit, Nancy Reagan's dedication to our country was matched only by that of her husband," Carter said. "Theirs was one of our nation's great love stories and a model of shared devotion to our country. America is stronger and better for their service."
