President Joe Biden speaks at the Border Patrol Station in Brownsville Thursday February 29, 2024. Biden traveled to Brownsville to meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, frontline personnel, and local leaders to discuss the need to pass the Senate bipartisan border security agreement.
Wilmington, Delaware – Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones, his office confirmed in a statement released Sunday.
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” the statement read. “On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”
Despite the seriousness of the diagnosis, Biden’s team noted that the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, allowing for “effective management.” The 82-year-old former president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.
Biden is reportedly spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. His office has not disclosed details on where he is receiving treatment.
The announcement follows recent reports that Biden had undergone evaluation for a small nodule on his prostate. While concerns about Biden’s age and health have persisted for years, they intensified after his halting performance in the June 2024 debate against former President Donald Trump. The event led to his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race weeks later.
Biden underwent a routine physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center earlier that year. His physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, declared him “fit for duty” with “no new concerns” at the time.
A recent book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson alleges that aides had long observed signs of decline, including reports that Biden failed to recognize actor George Clooney at a June fundraiser and private discussions about whether he might require a wheelchair during a second term.
Biden, who has kept a relatively low public profile since leaving office, appeared earlier this month with his wife, Jill Biden, on ABC’s The View, where he denied claims of cognitive decline. “They are wrong,” he said. “There is nothing to sustain that.”
Jill Biden defended her husband’s work ethic, saying, “He’d get up, he’d put in a full day and then at night… he was still on the phone, reading his briefings, working with staff.”
Biden has long championed cancer research, launching the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative after his son Beau died of brain cancer. He revived the initiative in 2022 intending to cut cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years.
