Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Former US president Jimmy Carter, 91, was diagnosed with cancer of the liver Reuters

Former US president Jimmy Carter has revealed that his brain tumour has disappeared after responding well to cancer treatment. The 91-year-old, who was president from 1977-1981, announced his illness in a statement in August.

But speaking to a Sunday school class in Plains, Georgia this afternoon, Carter is said to have told a class of approximately 350 students that he was now clear of the disease following a positive scan last week. The congregation "erupted in applause" at the news, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The first positive statements about Carter's health emerged last month when he said that he had been responding well to treatment and the cancer growth appeared to have been halted. At that point, there was nothing to suggest the former president was clear of brain cancer, however.

Today's address at Maranatha Baptist Church was typically low key for an ex-president who claimed to still be "feeling good" despite his illness. "Went for an MRI this past week and they didn't find any cancer at all in the brain," NBC quoted Carter as telling the 350 Sunday school students.

When he originally announced his illness in August, Mr Carter revealed that doctors would be using a new drug known as Keytruda to treat the disease as it had proved promising in other patients. "I'll be prepared for anything that comes," he said at the time.

While receiving the treatment, the 39<sup>th US president is understood to have continued teaching his weekly Sunday school class and even spent time building houses with the aid charity Habitat for Humanity – an organisation he has been affiliated with since 1984.

In 2002, Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts and his work with human rights and democracy initiatives. The Georgia Democrat is one of just five living American presidents, the others being George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama.

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