Former US president Jimmy Carter said on Wednesday that recent liver surgery revealed he had cancer that had spread to other parts of his body.
“I will be rearranging my schedule as necessary so I can undergo treatment by physicians at Emory Healthcare,” Mr Carter, the 39th US president, said in a statement.
“A more complete public statement will be made when facts are known, possibly next week.”
Mr Carter (90), a Democrat originally from Georgia, was president from 1977 to 1981. He was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in his attempt to win a second term.
After leaving the White House, he founded the Carter Centre in Atlanta in 1982 to promote health care, democracy and other issues globally.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work in finding “peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development”.
