2025-05-18T20:16:43Z

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Former U.S. President Joe Biden has recently received a diagnosis of prostate cancer, as confirmed by his office on Sunday. This news has raised concerns and garnered attention from the public and political commentators alike.

According to reports, Biden sought medical attention last week due to experiencing urinary symptoms. Upon examination, doctors discovered a nodule on his prostate, which led to further tests and a diagnosis of prostate cancer on Friday. Alarmingly, it has been revealed that the cancer cells have metastasized, meaning they have spread to the bone.

His office released a statement explaining that although this form of cancer is considered more aggressive, it appears to be hormone-sensitive. This is a critical factor because it allows for potential treatment options that can effectively manage the disease. Biden and his family are currently consulting with his healthcare team to evaluate the best treatment strategies moving forward.

Prostate cancers are typically assessed using a Gleason score, which ranges from 1 to 10, indicating how closely the cancerous cells resemble healthy cells. Biden's Gleason score is reported to be 9, categorizing his cancer as one of the most aggressive forms. This high score suggests a serious battle ahead.

In a related context, a recent report highlighted concerns regarding outdated cancer screening guidelines in Canada, emphasizing that delayed diagnoses can make treatment significantly more challenging. Experts argue that national screening recommendations have not evolved for over a decade, putting patients at risk of receiving late-stage diagnoses.

Prostate cancer is notorious for its tendency to spread to the bones, which complicates treatment. When cancer has metastasized, it becomes much more difficult to treat effectively since it can be challenging for medications to reach all the tumors and eliminate the disease entirely. However, Biden's case is somewhat promising, as prostate cancers that require hormones to grow can often be treated with therapies that inhibit hormone production.

Biden, who is currently 82 years old, has had his health scrutinized extensively throughout his presidency. Concerns about his age and fitness for office were particularly pronounced during his re-election campaign. After facing criticism for a poor debate performance in June 2024, Biden chose to withdraw from the race for a second term. Subsequently, Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee but ultimately lost to Republican Donald Trump, who returned to the White House after a four-year absence.

Despite the mounting concerns about his age and health, Biden has publicly dismissed fears regarding his ability to serve. A new book titled Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson has reported that aides had, at times, hidden the extent of his health decline from the public during his presidency.

This is not the first health scare Biden has faced. In February 2023, he underwent a procedure to remove a skin lesion identified as basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer. Additionally, in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was benign but could have developed into a pre-cancerous condition.

In 2022, Biden had prioritized a significant initiative dubbed the "cancer moonshot," aiming to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% over the next quarter-century. This commitment stems from Biden's personal experiences with cancer, particularly the loss of his elder son, Beau, to the disease, who had been a central figure in Biden's life and political narrative.