Dr. Len Lichtenfeld

Doctors: Various factors figure into Carter cancer treatment

Carter, 90, announced Wednesday that recent liver surgery found cancer that has 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," Carter said in the statement released by the Carter Center in Atlanta.

The statement indicates that the 39th president's cancer is widespread but not where it originated, or even whether that is known at this point. The liver is often a place where cancer spreads and less commonly is the primary source of it.