The 82-year-old former president has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form of prostate cancer”
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said on Sunday. He consulted doctors last week due to urinary issues, which led to the discovery of a prostate nodule. Following further examination, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Biden’s diagnosed with aggressive form of cancer
Prostate cancer is graded using a Gleason score, which ranges from 1 to 10 and indicates how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. According to Biden’s office, his Gleason score is 9, indicating a highly aggressive form of cancer.
When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease. However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone. While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” the statement read.
Trump ‘saddened’ by Joe Biden’s diagnosis
President Donald Trump, a longtime political opponent, posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and wished for a fast and successful recovery.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Former US Vice President Kamala Harris also expressed her support and prayers for former US President Joe Biden after his office announced his diagnosis with prostate cancer. In a post on X, Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, expressed their sadness upon learning of Biden’s health condition.
“Doug and I are saddened to learn of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time,” Harris stated.
She further highlighted Biden’s resilience, adding, “Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery,” she added.
Biden’s health
The health of Biden, 82, was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.
But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president.
In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.
In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration’s priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015.
His father, when announcing the goal to halve the cancer death rate, said this could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things.”
(With AP inputs)
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