Ex-US Leader, Biden, Diagnosed with ‘Aggressive’ Prostate Cancer

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones, according to a statement from his personal office yesterday.

“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,” the statement said.

Biden, 82, and his family “are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” the statement seen by CNN said.

Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, this last weekend according to a source familiar. CNN said it has inquired about where the former president is being treated.

The news comes days after a spokesperson for Biden said the former president was recently evaluated for a “small nodule” discovered on his prostate.

Concerns about age and health dogged Biden, the nation’s oldest sitting president, throughout his time in office and came into sharper focus following his halting debate performance against Donald Trump last June.

In February 2024, Biden underwent a physical at Walter Reed National Military Center overseen by his physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who at the time said there were “no new concerns” with the president’s health and he was “fit for duty.”

Biden has maintained a relatively low profile since leaving the White House but has slowly started to reemerge on the public stage.

He appeared earlier this month on ABC’s “The View,” where he pushed back on suggestions he experienced cognitive decline in his final year in office. “They are wrong,” Biden said. “There is nothing to sustain that,” he added.