Former US President Jimmy Carter, who is currently in hospice care at his home in Georgia, has asked President Biden to deliver his eulogy at his funeral.

President Biden revealed the message shortly after visiting the retired president at the hospital. However, the message – whether deliberated or a slip of the tongue – has raised fears that the ailing former president is at the end of his sunset days.

Carter is the 39th president and the longest-living president in US history. He decided to forego further medical treatment on February 18, and his recent hospital stays led him to receive hospice care at home.

During a fundraiser in California on Monday last week, President Biden revealed that he had “spent time” with Carter, and said that cancer had “finally caught up with him.” Biden spoke about cancer at the fundraiser and referred to Carter’s earlier battle with the disease, noting that doctors had “found a breakthrough” to keep him going for longer.

In 2015, Carter had a small cancerous mass removed from his liver, and he announced a year later that he needed no further treatment since an experimental drug had eliminated any sign of cancer. The Carter Center said in February that he had decided to receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.

Carter has suffered several health setbacks in recent years, including a subdural hematoma that led to brain surgery in 2019 and several falls that resulted in hospitalisation. Despite his health struggles, Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, said last year that the former president was looking ahead to his 98th birthday “with faith in God’s plan for him.”

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in Plains, Georgia in May 2021. At the time, Mr. Biden said they “talked about the old days.” Biden served in the US Senate during Carter’s presidency from 1977-1981.