Joe Biden, the former US president, has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his personal office announced on Sunday.
The 82-year-old was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. Biden and his family are considering options for treatment.
“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.”
Prostate cancers are given a score called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of one to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s office said his score was nine, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.
When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasised cancer is much harder to treat than localised cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumours 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.
Biden’s predecessor and successor, Donald Trump, expressed concern for his political rival. “Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
The uncharacteristically gracious tone, and reference to Biden by his first name “Joe”, were reminiscent of the Democrat’s gesture of concern for “Donald” after last year’s attempted assassination of Trump.
Kamala Harris, who served as Biden’s vice-president, wrote on X that she and husband Doug Emhoff were “saddened” to learn of the diagnosis. “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,” she added.
Biden was the oldest president in history and his health was a dominant concern among voters. He had beaten an incumbent Trump in the 2020 presidential election and initially sought a rematch with him last year. But, amid questions about his age and mental acuity, he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to succeed him.
Trump, who is just three years younger than Biden, subsequently defeated Harris in November’s election and returned to the White House in January.
Biden’s initial decision to seek re-election has come under renewed criticism ahead of Tuesday’s publication of Original Sin, a book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that alleges a White House cover-up of the former president’s declining health and cognitive abilities.
Based on interviews with more than 200 aides, insiders and members of Congress, the book contains accounts of losing his train of thought, struggling to remember names, incoherent speeches and failing to recognise celebrities such as George Clooney. Aides discussed the possibility of Biden needing a wheelchair if he won re-election due to the severity of his physical deterioration and the risk of falling.
Just two days ago Trump mocked Biden for being “hapless and cognitively impaired” in the wake of leaked audio recordings from Biden’s 2023 interview with then special counsel Robert Hur, where he struggled to remember important events. But in recent media interviews Biden has continued to reject the idea that he was too old to serve.
Biden has dealt with cancer before. Prior to starting his presidency, he had several non-melanoma skin cancers surgically removed, and he had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest in February 2023.
In the US, prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men, according to the American Cancer Society.
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.
Biden has endured decades of adversity and tragedy in the public eye. Shortly after he was elected to the Senate in 1972, his wife, Neilia, and baby daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car crash. Before leaving office he pardoned Hunter, whom Biden calls “my only living son”, on federal felony gun and tax convictions despite previously promising not to.
As news of the cancer diagnosis spread, a chorus of politicians wished Biden a speedy recovery. Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary in his administration, wrote on X: “President Biden is a man of deep faith and extraordinary resilience. Chasten and I are keeping him, and the entire Biden family, in our prayers for strength and healing.”
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, posted: “Our hearts are with President Biden and his entire family right now. A man of dignity, strength, and compassion like his deserves to live a long and beautiful life. Sending strength, healing and prayers his way.”
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting
