Joe Biden, after prostate cancer diagnosis, gives key treatment update: ‘His family will…’

May 19, 2025 02:29 AM IST

Former President Joe Biden’s team gave a key treatment update after announcing that the 82-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer

Former President Joe Biden’s team gave a key treatment update after announcing that the 82-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer this week. His office said in a statement on Sunday that Biden has an ‘aggressive form’ of cancer that has metastasized to the bone.

Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer(AFP)

He was diagnosed on Friday after having experienced urinary symptoms. This comes days after an audio from Robert Hur’s interview with Biden was released, sparking concerns about the Democrat’s health. His physical health and mental acuity drew intense scrutiny after his presidential debate last year. The 82-year-old reportedly faced party pressure and eventually decided to step down, announcing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Read More: Joe Biden prostate cancer diagnosis: What a Gleason score of 9 means?

Biden’s team on Sunday noted that the former president has prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 9, which is the most aggressive on the 1-10 scale. Metastasized cancer is much tougher to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors.

“The chance of surviving prostate cancer is quite good for most people. To understand prostate cancer survival rates, experts study many people with prostate cancer to see how many are living five years after their diagnosis,” the Mayo Clinic notes.

Read More: Biden-Robert Hur audio: Transcript of everything ex-Prez said in the infamous interview

Revealing the treatment plan for Biden in short, his team said: “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.”

The former president’s family is reviewing options with physicians and experts, the statement further read.

In February 2023, Joe 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.