Carter’s cancer battle highlights skin cancer dangers

More information is coming out about the type of cancer Former President Jimmy Carter is fighting.

Thursday afternoon, he had his first radiation treatment for four small spots of melanoma cancer found on his brain.

Melanoma is usually associated with skin cancer, not brain cancer. However, melanoma, like any cancer, if not caught early, can spread.

It’s a reminder how dangerous exposure to the sun can be especially in the desert.

“It was indeed cancer and it was melanoma.” the former president said.

In his first public remarks since his diagnosis, Carter openly talked about his melanoma diagnosis. He shared his fears when he learned the cancer that was first discovered on his liver had spread, with doctors also finding it on his brain.

“I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease. You know, I have had a wonderful life,” said Carter.

It’s a life the 90-year-old is optimistically fighting for. He is undergoing radiation treatment for the cancer most people associate with skin and sun exposure.

“All it takes is one cancer that goes underground, in other words, one skin cancer that starts to go deep underneath the skin and invade deeper into the tissues and then travel and go to different places,” said Eisenhower Medical Center Oncologist Dr. Henry Tsai.

Tsai said it typically starts with a small spot on your skin.

“You probably know somebody who may have melanoma. It is generally a sun exposure related cancer,” said Tsai.

Tsai said yearly checks with a dermatologist, limiting sun exposure and using sun screen are a must.

“Most of the time, melanoma is just pure skin cancer, but if you can find it early, that will be the best chance for cure. Once it’s gone systemic, once it’s gone into the rest of your body, it is a serious matter,” said Tsai.

It’s a serious situation but not one without hope, thanks to advances in treatment options, like immunotherapy.

“We have been having amazing survival numbers, and I am hoping President Carter is able to benefit from that treatment,” said Tsai.

So far the former president says he feels good and has had very little pain.

Thursday’s radiation is the first of four treatments scheduled over the next few months.