WASHINGTON, United States
Former US President Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a statement from his office said on Sunday.
Biden, who left office in
January, was diagnosed on Friday after he saw a doctor last week for urinary
symptoms.
The cancer is a more
aggressive form of the disease, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 out of
10. This means his illness is classified as "high-grade" and the
cancer cells could spread quickly, according to Cancer Research UK.
Biden and his family are said
to be reviewing treatment options. His office added that the cancer was
hormone-sensitive, meaning it could likely be managed.
In Sunday's statement, Biden's
office said: "Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of
a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
"On Friday, he was
diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade
Group 5) with metastasis 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."
After news broke of his
diagnosis, the former president received support from both sides of the aisle.
President Donald Trump wrote
on his social media platform Truth Social that he and First Lady Melania Trump
were "saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis".
"We extend our warmest
and best wishes to Jill and the family," he said, referring to former
First Lady Jill Biden. "We wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."
Former Vice-President Kamala
Harris, who served under Biden, wrote on X that she and her husband Doug Emhoff
are keeping the Biden family in their 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," Harris said.
In a post on X, Barack Obama –
who served as president from 2009 to 2017 with Joe Biden as his deputy – said
that he and his wife Michelle were "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," Obama said. In 2016, Obama tasked
Biden with leading a "cancer moonshot" government-wide research
programme.
The news comes nearly a year
after the former president was forced to drop out of the 2024 US presidential
election over concerns about his health and age. He is the oldest person to
have held the office in US history.
Biden, then the Democratic
nominee vying for re-election, faced mounting criticism of his poor performance
in a June televised debate against Republican nominee and current president
Donald Trump. He was replaced as the Democratic candidate by his vice-president,
Kamala Harris.
Prostate cancer is the second
most common cancer affecting men, behind skin cancer, according to the
Cleveland Clinic. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says
that 13 out of every 100 men will develop prostate cancer at some point in
their lives.
Age is the most common risk
factor, the CDC says.
Dr William Dahut, the Chief
Scientific Officer at the American Cancer Society and a trained prostate cancer
physician, told the BBC that the cancer is more aggressive in nature, based on
the publicly-available information on Biden's diagnosis.
"In general, if cancer
has spread to the bones, we don't think it is considered a curable
cancer," Dr Dahut said.
He noted, however, that most
patients tend to respond well to initial treatment, "and people can live
many years with the diagnosis".
Dr Dahut said that someone
with the former president's diagnosis will likely be offered hormonal therapies
to mitigate symptoms and to slow the growth of cancerous cells.
Biden had largely retreated
from the public eye since leaving the White House and he has made few public
appearances.
The former president delivered a keynote speech in April at a Chicago conference held by the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled, a US-based advocacy group for people with disabilities.
Biden has faced questions
about the status of his health in recent months.
In an appearance on The View
programme that also took place in May, Biden denied claims that he had been
experiencing cognitive decline in his final year at the White House.
"There is nothing to sustain that," he said.
For many years, the president
had advocated for cancer research.
In 2022, he and Mrs Biden
relaunched the "cancer moonshot" initiative with the goal of
mobilising research efforts to prevent more than four million cancer deaths by
the year 2047.
Biden himself lost his eldest
son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.
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