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Former president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, a spokesperson for Biden said in a statement on Sunday.
Biden, 82, received the diagnosis on Friday after doctors discovered a “small nodule” on Biden’s prostate that required additional evaluation.
Doctors said the cancer had a Gleason score of 9 or Grade Group 5 – indicating it is “high grade” and had spread to the bone. The Gleason score is the grading system doctors use to determine its aggressiveness.
The former president and his family are currently “reviewing treatment options” with his physicians.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” the spokesman said in a statement.
President Donald Trump sent his “warmest and best wishes” to Biden, while former Vice President Kamala Harris called Biden a “fighter.”
Republicans lament Biden's health news
Trump’s fellow Republicans commented on the news of Biden’s diagnosis.
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins said she was “saddened to hear of President Biden’s cancer diagnosis and am wishing him and his family well as he begins treatment.”
North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he was “praying for his full recovery.”
Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee lamented the “sad news.”
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was “sorry to see this news. Cancer is truly awful. My Dad passed away in 2021 with cancer. Prays for Joe Biden and his family.”
Gustaf Kilander19 May 2025 06:00
WATCH: Joe Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ form of prostate cancer
Gustaf Kilander19 May 2025 05:00
Biden's health dominant concern during presidency
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. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee and lost to Republican Donald Trump, 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.
Not Biden's first cancer diagnosis
This is not the first time he has been diagnosed with a form of cancer.
In March 2023, the White House announced that Biden had undergone a procedure to remove a common type of skin cancer from his chest.
A memorandum from O’Connor released to the press at the time said a biopsy “confirmed that the small lesion” removed from the then-president “was basal cell carcinoma”.
Andrew Feinberg19 May 2025 04:00
Biden's high cancer score
Prostate cancers are given a score called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of 1 to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s score of 9 suggests his cancer is among the most aggressive.
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.
Biden White House Press Secretary denied he was suffering from Alzheimer’s
Four months after his final physical, Biden’s performance at a June 2024 debate with Donald Trump was so dismal that he was forced to exit the race just five weeks later. During the 90-minute televised session, he appeared frail and was unable to form coherent sentences at times, leading to questions over whether he was suffering from any sort of degenerative condition.
Last July, then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, or another degenerative illness that would explain his rambling, meandering performance. And no evidence has emerged that Biden has been diagnosed with any condition that would have had such an effect on his mental acuity other than the normal aging process.
Andrew Feinberg19 May 2025 03:00
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday.
Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. His office said he has stage 9 cancer.
Read more:
WATCH: Joe Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer
Gustaf Kilander19 May 2025 02:00
Biden had skin lesion removed in early 2023
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.
Biden declared 'healthy' in February 2024
As president, Biden had regular physical examinations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, that were conducted by Dr. Kevin O’Connor, a former U.S. Army physician who began treating Biden during his time as vice president in the Obama administration.
Though he was the oldest person to serve as commander-in-chief, O’Connor’s reports from those annual exams downplayed his age and invariably pronounced him fit to serve.
One February 2024 memorandum from O’Connor, following Biden’s final annual physical as president, described him as “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief.”
Andrew Feinberg19 May 2025 01:00
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