Former US President Jimmy Carter is being cared for at home by a hospice

Former US President Jimmy Carter has entered home hospice care.

The Carter Center confirmed the news tonight.

In a tweet, the charity said Mr Carter, 98, had “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care rather than additional medical intervention.”

It came after the former president had a series of brief hospital stays.

The Carter Center, founded by the former president, added that he has the full support of his medical team and family, who “request privacy at this time and are grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.”

Mr. Carter, a Democrat, became the 39th US President when he defeated former President Gerald Ford in 1976.

He served a single term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.

The former president previously battled melanoma in 2015.

Mr Carter had told reporters he was “perfectly comfortable with whatever is coming,” according to Inside Edition.

The cancer had spread to his brain, but he underwent radiation treatment and later announced he was cancer-free to the Sunday school class he teaches at Maranatha Baptist Church in December 2015.

At a press conference, Mr Carter later said: “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and satisfying existence.’

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