Former U.S. President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a statement from his office said on Sunday.
The 82-year-old Democrat was diagnosed on Friday after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms and a new finding of a prostate nodule.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” according to a statement from his office.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Biden’s cancer has a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), indicating a high-grade, aggressive tumor.
However, medical experts say the cancer’s hormone sensitivity means therapies like androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) could slow the disease’s growth and help manage symptoms ¹ ².
The diagnosis comes after Biden left office in January as the oldest serving U.S. president in history, facing questions over his health and age throughout his presidency.
Despite doubters, Biden had responded with confidence: “Watch me.” However, he dropped his reelection bid in July last year after a disastrous debate against Donald Trump raised concerns about his cognitive abilities.
Biden’s medical team is working closely with oncologists to determine a treatment plan, and his family has asked for privacy as they navigate this diagnosis.
Biden’s life has been marked by personal tragedy. In 1972 his wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash, days after he had been elected as a US senator at the age of 29.
Biden underwent surgery twice in 1988 for brain aneurysms. In 2023 he had a skin lesion a basal cell carcinoma removed from his chest. He had previously had non-melanoma skin cancers removed.
Biden’s son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015.
AFP
