Former President Biden Diagnosed With Aggressive Prostate Cancer; Republicans Question Announcement Timing
Former President Joe Biden, 82, said he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer Friday that has already spread to his bones, his team announced Sunday.
The Stage 4 cancer was “characterized by a Gleason score of 9,” a scale from 1 to 10 that measures how abnormal cancer cells look compared to ordinary cells.
This type of late-stage cancer has an average five-year relative survival rate of about 37%.
The statement specifies his cancer is “hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management." He and his family are reviewing treatment options.
WHAT DOCTORS ARE SAYING
Dr. Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel, an oncologist who served in the Obama and Biden administrations, said the former president’s prostate cancer had likely been active “for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading.”
Speaking on Morning Joe on MSNBC Monday, Emanuel said it’s “a little surprising” that Biden did not receive a PSA test, a common blood test used to help screen for prostate cancer, during his years in office.
Emanuel notes that while former Presidents Obama and Bush both received the test while in office, Biden or his doctors may have chosen not to order one for a number of reasons. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend men over 70 be screened for prostate cancer routinely. However, given he was president and seeking another four years, Emanuel is surprised Biden didn’t receive one.
In February 2024, Biden’s doctor declared him “fit to serve” after a routine physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Biden was the oldest-serving U.S. president.
By the numbers: According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime – with about 60% of cases detected in men over age 65. It is the second-leading cause of cancer death among men, after lung cancer. Prostate cancer is also particularly likely to spread to the bones, the Mayo Clinic notes.
REACTIONS
Vice President JD Vance did not hold back Monday, questioning Biden’s fitness to serve and accusing those close to him of covering up his health issues. President Trump took a softer tone Sunday evening, wishing Biden well.
It comes as CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson release their book Original Sin tomorrow, detailing how Biden’s aides allegedly shielded the public from the former president’s declining physical and mental health.
WHAT’S NEXT
After a diagnosis, the disease is generally treated with some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy. Biden has not announced what course of action he will take.
As for the allegations of a cover-up, some conservative voices have called for President Biden’s personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, or his aides/Cabinet members to testify before Congress.
Thompson noted in an interview with The New Yorker Radio Hour that “basically every single senior adviser, with the exception of a few, will always say, ‘Well, when I was with him. When I saw him…’ Which is giving them plausible deniability.”
In terms of medical records, presidents also have doctor-patient confidentiality.
Beyond Biden? Dr. Emanuel on Morning Joe noted that if Biden’s doctor did administer the prostate cancer screen test and “didn't report it and it was elevated, that is another case of doctors not being straightforward with us. We've had several of them with President Trump, especially around his COVID diagnosis, and if that is true, that would be very troubling.”
