Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday (May 18). The health update came after the 82-year-old reported urinary symptoms, which led doctors to discover a nodule on his prostate.
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Former President Addresses His Cancer Diagnosis
Doctors diagnosed Joe Biden with prostate cancer on Friday, May 16. His office says the cancer cells have spread to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
In a post on X on Monday morning, Biden posted a photo of himself and his wife, Jill Biden, and wrote: “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
How Aggressive Is The Former President’s Cancer?
Medical professionals grade prostate cancers for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9, and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Joe Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting 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 subjected to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.
Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center tells the Associated Press that outcomes have improved in recent decades. These days, patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said.
“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said. “Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.”
Donald Trump, Kamala Harris & Obama Speak Out
Many political leaders sent Biden their wishes for his recovery. President Donald Trump, a longtime political opponent, posted on social media that he was saddened by the news and “we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, said on social media that she was keeping him in her family’s “hearts and prayers during this time.”
“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,” Harris wrote.
Former President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Biden, his former vice president, lauding his toughness. “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 on social media.
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. We pray for a fast and full recovery.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 18, 2025
More Details About Biden’s Health History
In February 2023, doctors removed a skin lesion from Joe Biden’s chest. It was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon. It was a benign but potentially precancerous lesion.
In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration’s priorities. His goal was to slash the cancer death rate by half 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, who died from brain cancer in 2015. When the former president first announced his goal on the cancer rate, he said it could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things.”
Biden’s health was a huge concern among voters during his time as president. After a concerning debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.
But in recent days, Biden has rejected concerns about his age. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book, ‘Original Sin,’ is part of the reason why. It claims that aides hid the extent of Biden’s health decline from the public while he was serving as president.
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Associated Press staff Josh Boak and Jon Fahey contributed to this report.
