Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday in Plains, Georgia at age 100, had faced numerous health challenges in recent years.
In 2019, he underwent surgery after breaking his hip in a fall. Four years earlier, Carter had been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma that had spread to his brain, although a few months later, he announced that he no longer needed treatment due to a new type of cancer therapy he was receiving.
In February 2023, the Carter Center, an organization founded by the former president to promote human rights worldwide, announced that Carter, “with the full support of his family and his medical team,” would begin receiving hospice care at home.
“After a brief hospital stay, former US President Jimmy Carter has decided to spend today at home with his family and to receive hospital care in lieu of additional medical intervention,” the Carter Center said in a statement at the time.
Carter was the oldest and longest-serving president of the United States People magazine In 2015, at the age of 95, he never expected to be alive as long as he did.
Here are some of the health challenges Carter faced before his death on December 29.
Surgery on his liver
Carter underwent elective surgery on August 2, 2015 at Emory University Hospital to remove a small liver mass at the Carter Center. announced at that time
Although the surgery was successful and doctors said he would make a full recovery, the surgery revealed more health challenges for the former president.
2015 cancer diagnosis
On August 11, 2015, Carter said that liver surgery revealed that he had cancer spread out to other parts of his body.
“I will be rescheduling my schedule to be able to receive treatment from the doctors at Emory Healthcare,” he said through his organization.
There is a history of cancer in Carter’s family. Mother died of breast cancer. His father, two sisters and a brother died of pancreatic cancer.
Former President Jimmy Carter sits on the Atlanta Falcons bench before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 23, 2016, in Atlanta.
John Bazemore/AP, FILE
Doctors discovered that Carter had melanoma, one of the most common cancers affecting men and women in the US and the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
Melanoma has a very high risk of metastases in the blood or lymphatic system and other parts of the body.
The 39th president said in a press conference on August 20, 2015, that an MRI of his head and neck revealed that the cancer had spread to four different parts of his brain.
When Carter, then 90, learned the cancer had spread, she thought she had a long time to live, which didn’t worry her.
“I thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly calm,” Carter said. “I’ve had a wonderful life. I have thousands of friends … so I was surprisingly calm, much more so than my wife.”
At the press conference, Carter said that despite the ease of knowing he had a full life, he would follow his doctors’ advice to make sure he “extends” his life as long as he can.
He underwent cancer treatment called surgery, radiation therapy and immunotherapy to fight the disease.
Carter received treatments between August 2015 and February 2016.
Responding well to treatment in December 2015, Carter said MRI scans showed there were no longer any signs of melanoma in her brain, nor had new ones formed.
The former president informed his church in March 2016 that doctors stopped treatment after seeing no signs of tumors.
According to experts, the successful treatment is likely due to the drug pembrolizumab, which fights cancer by boosting the body’s immune system. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the treatment in 2011.
Dehydration at Habitat for Humanity
On July 13, 2017, the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize laureate was taken to the hospital after being dehydrated after being observed building homes in the hot sun at a Habitat for Humanity site in Winnipeg, Canada.
Carter returned to work the day after being discharged from the hospital, the Carter Center announced
Former President Jimmy Carter smiles as Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela presents him with the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero during a ceremony at the Carter Center on Jan. 14, 2016, in Atlanta.
John Bazemore/AP, FILE
He collapses at his home in Georgia
Carter fell turkey hunting in his Plains, Georgia home, breaking his hip, his organization announced in May 2019.
The Grammy Award winner underwent hip replacement surgery at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia on May 13, 2019.
“President Carter said his main concern is that the turkey season ends this week, and that it has not reached its limit,” the Carter Foundation said. “The State of Georgia is hopeful that the unused limit will be allowed to roll over to next year.”
A few days later, the Carter Center announced that he would undergo physical therapy from the surgery and was recovering at home.
On October 6, 2019, Carter collapsed at his home in Georgia. He ended up getting stitches over an eyebrow.
A few weeks later, on October 22, 2019, the former president collapsed again at his home. He was admitted to the hospital and treated for a small pelvic fracture, the Carter Center said.
Carter underwent surgery on November 12, 2019 to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding from a fall at his home. According to the Carter Center, there were no complications from the surgery.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter takes questions from the media during a press conference at the Carter Center on August 20, 2015 in Atlanta.
John Amis/Reuters, FILE
Home hospital care
On Saturday, The Carter Center announced that the former president is receiving hospice care at home, where he is expected to spend his final moments with loved ones instead of seeking further medical treatment.
“He has the full support of his family and his medical team,” the Carter Center said in a statement. “The Carter family requests privacy during this time and appreciates the concern shown by their many admirers.”
Despite health problems in recent years, Carter credits the longevity of his marriage to his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
“It’s hard to live to be 95,” she told People magazine in 2019, weeks after her second collapse. “I think the best explanation for that is marrying the best spouse, someone who will take care of you and challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life.”
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso, Julia Jacobo, Dr. Chantel Strachan and Gillian Mohney contributed to this report.
