Former President Jimmy Carter to begin receiving palliative care

This Saturday, The Carter Center released a statement Saturday announcing that 98-year-old former President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving palliative care in lieu of further medical intervention.

After a series of brief stays in health centers, the former president decided to spend the rest of the time he has left at home surrounded by his family, and receiving palliative care. The decision was fully supported by his relatives and medical team, according to the statement.

The Carter family "asks for privacy at this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers," the text states.

Most recent health problems

In 2015, Jimmy Carter was diagnosed with a metastatic melanoma that stemmed from cancer in his liver and brain. In 2016 the former president managed to get rid of any signs of the disease thanks to an experimental drug combined with a mix of immunotherapy and radiation treatments.

However, in 2019, his health condition suffered complications again after a series of falls that required emergency transfers to medical centers, some of which later required surgery. The first accident occurred during the spring of that year when he had to undergo hip replacement surgery, the second incident occurred on October 6, after a hard fall that required about 14 stitches, and the last of that year's emergencies happened when he was traveling to Nashville, Tennessee and fractured his pelvis.

The 39th president of the United States also suffered from brain bleeds that caused pressure in his skull, this led the former head of state to require surgery to relieve the pressure.

Governed from 1977 to 1981

Jimmy Carter became president after defeating Gerald R. Ford in 1976, he served only one term as he was later defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan.