President James “Jimmy” Earl Carter announced on Aug. 20 his recent cancer diagnosis. The 39th president said that the cancer is all over his body. It was discovered in July after having undergone surgery to remove a small mass in his liver.

“Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my 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.

President Carter’s family has a long line of cancer; it has taken his father’s and three of his siblings’ lives. He has expressed concern for cancer, especially when he wrote a tribute to his deceased family members in his book A Full Life. President Carter also noted that being a nonsmoker and avid exerciser has allowed him to live 90 years cancer free.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama expressed their good wishes for former President Carter in a statement: “Jimmy, you’re as resilient as they come, and along with the rest of America, we are rooting for you.” Vice President Joe Biden, whose son recently died of brain cancer, said that Carter is strong and very optimistic.