Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • last year • 25 commentsBy: Kelly O'Donnell, Yamiche Alcindor, Megan Lebowitz and Nnamdi Egwuonwu
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his personal office announced Sunday.
"Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms," his personal office said in a statement. "On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone."
Metastasis means the cancer has spread from its primary site (in Biden's cancer, the prostate) to other tissue in the body.
"While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," the statement continued. "The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians."
A spokesperson for Biden's office did not have any additional comment.
Biden and his family are meeting with doctors and considering "multiple treatment options," including hormone treatment, according to a source familiar with Biden's and his family's thinking.
Biden is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the source said, but it is unclear where he will receive treatment.
Biden's Gleason score of 9 (Group grade 5) means the cancer is likelier than others to grow and spread.
"Gleason 9 is, by definition, aggressive, but you don't know how bad it is unless you know what the PET scan looks like," said Dr. Alan Tan, genitourinary section lead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Tan is not involved with Biden's case.
Tan said that this type of prostate cancer is not rare. "This is the most common thing I see in my clinic," he said. "This is bread-and-butter genitourinary oncology."
Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die of it. And that Biden's cancer is hormone-sensitive suggests he will respond to treatment, experts said.
Dr. Chris George, a prostate cancer specialist at Northwestern Medicine who is not involved with Biden's case, said that if Biden responds to treatment, he could live for years as the treatment keeps the disease in check.
President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump were "saddened to hear about" Biden's diagnosis.
"We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said she and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff are keeping the former first couple "in our hearts and prayers."
"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. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery," Harris wrote on X.
Former President Barack Obama said he is praying "for a fast and full recovery" and credited Biden for spearheading efforts to reduce cancer deaths.
"Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family. Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace," Obama wrote in a statement.
About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The cancer is common in older men, and it is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind lung cancer, according to the organization.
A spokesperson for Biden disclosed last Tuesday that a "small nodule" was found on Biden's prostate during a routine physical examination, which "necessitated further evaluation."
At 82, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history.
Experts usually do not recommend the prostate-specific antigen test, a blood test that helps detect prostate cancer, for men over 70, but in some cases it may be warranted.
"It's a risk-benefit analysis, and given he was vice president and then president, the benefit of screening was high," said Dr. Kavita Patel, a physician who worked in the Obama administration. "I have ordered and screened 80- and 86-year-olds if they are otherwise in good health and or have a family history."
Democrats face a reckoning over whether Biden should have run for a second term in the first place. Biden's run — and subsequent withdrawal — stoked deep divisions in the party over whether a campaign at his age helped contribute to Trump's win in November.
But the party immediately rallied around him after he disclosed the diagnosis, temporarily forgoing its post-election analysis to wish him a full recovery.
"President Joe Biden is a great American patriot. Paul and I join the millions across the country and around the world praying for him to have strength and a swift recovery in the battle against cancer. Sending love to him and his family," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, who helped lead efforts to encourage Biden to end his re-election bid.
"Over the years, the Biden family has confronted unimaginable adversity with grace and steadfast perseverance," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "We stand with President Biden as he confronts this moment with the same courage and resilience he has shown throughout his life."
"Praying for my friend and former colleague, Joe Biden, after hearing news of his diagnosis," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "Loretta and I will be keeping Joe, the entire Biden family, and the medical professionals treating him in our thoughts during this time. Continue to keep the faith, Joe."
Biden has also received messages of support from the Republican members of Congress who were once eager to make his health the centerpiece of the 2024 election.
"I'm sorry to see this news. Cancer is truly awful. My Dad passed away in 2021 with cancer," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said, urging supporters to pray for Biden and his family.
"This is certainly sad news, and the Johnson family will be joining the countless others who are praying for the former President in the wake of his diagnosis," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said.
During his presidency, Biden aimed to prevent millions of cancer deaths through the relaunch of his public-private Cancer Moonshot initiative, which funded research into treatments, expanded no-cost screening programs and, according to Biden administration records, resulted in nearly 8 million people being screened for prostate, breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and skin cancer.
At his first event after he left the 2024 presidential race, Biden announced $150 million in new grants to support research and "allow surgeons to provide more successful tumor-removal surgeries for people facing cancer."
Biden initially began leading the Moonshot program in 2016, as vice president, roughly six months after his eldest son, Beau, died of brain cancer.
In 2021, Biden underwent a colonoscopy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, during which a "single 3 mm benign-appearing polyp" was identified and removed, the White House physician at the time, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, revealed.
O'Connor said in a letter that the polyp was a "slow-growing, but thought to be precancerous lesion" for which no more action was required. Biden had a similar polyp removed in 2008, he said.
Biden's last annual physical exam as president was in February 2024, after which O'Connor billed him as a "healthy, active, robust 81-year-old."
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So sad.
5 years ago I could drink a bottle of Scotch and not fall over, today I can't get to it without falling over. Aging is a series downturns with each clamoring to be the final malaise to the mockery of the Muses. Just ask Dylan Thomas.
In the meantime this is all just empty nutshells for dead squirrel tossers.
The timing is quite suspicious.
Hey, CNN, Here's What's Really 'Extraordinary' About Biden's Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
The question is whether this was another thing they hid and decided to reveal at this time to gain sympathy.
Otherwise, Biden's doctor can't be much good.
MSNBC even had an oncologist on saying that's he probably had it since the start of his Presidency.
And on queue here's Axelrod from CNN telling us that it's time to stop talking about his mental decline in light of the cancer.
And a fair question to ask. Prostate cancer is normally a rather slowly growing cancer. One has to wonder how it could be missed in his annual physical back in Jan 2024.
And a fair question to ask.
They've certainly forfeited the benefit of the doubt, that's for sure.
but the real issue is Biden's cancer isn't some shield his advisors and the media can use to save themselves from answering questions about their role in the coverup of Biden's mental state and possible cancer. It's really a scandal about them, not the decrepit old man who was used as a front.
One has nothing to do with the other.
But it appears the public was lied to about Biden's well being on two situations.
One has to have a pattern of high PSA numbers and voluntarily submit to having a prostate biopsy.
I guarantee you that you will only volunteer once.
When it came time for me to make that choice a second time
I opted for a change in diet and continued PSA tests with regular blood tests every 6 months.
My PSA numbers dropped significantly.
That may be the worst biopsy on earth!
Won't the blood test show an elevated PSA?
Biden didn’t publish his PSA levels. Trump, bush and Obama all did.
I've never had high PSA numbers so never had to have a biopsy performed. And damn glad for that. I get the test annually.
But your comment doesn't answer the question, why is this cancer such a surprise? Prostate cancer is usually the slowest growing of all cancers so for it to be stage 4 in Biden shows that it's been there for some time. Like any cancer, early detection is key to successfully treating it and for prostate cancer that includes the annual PSA test as well as the ol' finger search. Distasteful but I want to be here for a long time to be a really bad influence on my grandkids, I owe my children that much at least.
It's a specific test, should be done on all men annually by the time they hit 50. I read elsewhere that it's possible that Biden was not offered the test due to his age but I don't know if that was true or not. It's not like Biden had to fight with an insurance company that decides to stop such testing over the age of 75 or so.
They probably knew about it all this time and decided to release it now as Biden's horrible legacy was being written.
They lied so much I can't believe anything they say.
I'm sure that's what it's really all about.
And a fair question to ask. Prostate cancer is normally a rather slowly growing cancer. One has to wonder how it could be missed in his annual physical back in Jan 2024.
If somebody told me that they ran him knowing of his cognitive decline and his terminal cancer, I wouldn't be surprised. They lied about everything and have done the most insidious things.
Biden was never given a PSA test
Was President Biden Given a PSA Test?
The available evidence indicates that President Joe Biden did not undergo a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test during his last medical checkup while in office in February 2024. His publicly released medical records from that time do not list a PSA test among the blood tests performed. Additionally, his medical records as president do not clarify whether any PSA screening was conducted at all.
was president biden given a psa test
It's a simple blood test, why not have it done for a man in his position?
The president gets world class health care.
When you give blood for a physical there are about two dozen tests the doctor can order and the tech has to check off and verify. The more boxes checked the more vials of blood collected.
Normally for people our age the doctor will or should ask how many times a night you get up to pee, is it a good flow, is it different from the day time and does it ever hurt or is it taking longer than ever before, all signs of age, deterioration and possible enlarged prostate or a cancer which is almost guaranteed to be detected in men above 70.
All of these things should make the doctor curious about the PSA number, but again the number isn't indicative of a diagnosis, nor is a digital exam unless it's too late...
The only true exam is to put a needle in it six or seven times to find abnormalities under a microscope.
Too much of a coincidence that this was announced almost right after the Hur tapes came out showing the world what we who think critically already knew......Biden was declined cognitively.
The good "doctor" Joe is looking for sympathy and to get the focus of his decreased cognition.
You may have nailed it. It didn't take long for people to think about the timing of all this:
And people who believe in conspiracies tend to see them everywhere...
Remember Ronald and Nancy? Wasn't it all the same? Dementia, Taro cards and Nancy running the country
behind the scenes, not unlike Elanor Roosevelt.