Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer after routine exam at hospital in Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a statement from his office Sunday afternoon.

“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, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement read.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” the statement concluded.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Biden confirmed to ABC News that a small nodule was found in the former president’s prostate after “a routine physical exam.”

The discovery of the nodule “necessitated further evaluation,” a spokesperson said.

“The former president is a longtime champion in the fight to end cancer as we know it, for everyone,” a statement from the American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network read. “Through the Cancer Moonshot initiative, first launched when he was vice president and then reignited when he was president, the president prioritized both government investment in the cancer fight, as well as promoted public-private partnerships to advance progress against the disease.”

In February 2023, while serving as president, Biden had a lesion removed from his chest that was cancerous. Before entering office, Biden had several non-melanoma skin cancers removed with Mohs surgery.

“As expected, the biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma,” White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said at the time. “All cancerous tissue was successfully removed… No further treatment is required.”

Biden’s health had been under scrutiny since before he dropped out of the presidential race in 2024, giving way to then-Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket.

In an appearance on ABC’s “The View” earlier this month, both Biden and former first lady Dr. Jill Biden generally pushed back against the slate of new books from reporters claiming that Biden was dealing with cognitive decline at the end of his presidency.

“They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that,” Biden said.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris shared the following statement on social media:
“Doug and I are saddened to learn of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our 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. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery.”

President Donald Trump shared the following statement on social media:
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

The initial concern with the cancer diagnosis comes with the fact that Biden is 82 years old. Medical experts told ABC7 Chicago this cancer is not curable because it has already spread to his bones, which indicates that Biden has stage 4 cancer.

Dr. Chris George, a medical director from Northwestern Medicine, said hormonal treatment will likely be the best option for the former president.

“It’s not curable. If it spreads to the bones, you cannot cure the cancer. Curative therapy does not exist, but it’s very treatable and controllable,” Dr. George said. “I would expect his quality of life over the next year to be reasonably good. I would expect if there is any baseline frailty or cognitive disfunction. I would expect that to perhaps get worse I would worry about that. I would not expect him to die from this disease in the next year.”

Dr. George explained that chemotherapy would probably not be a good option for Biden, and his age will factor in to the kind of treatment he and his family decide to go with.

“He’s gonna face some choices,” Dr. George said. “You can treat this with a hormonal approach entirely, which means we lower his testosterone level and that maneuver by itself is very effective controlling the cancer.”

ABC7 Chicago anchor Hosea Sanders is familiar with the treatments as he has been battling prostate cancer since 2017. He’s now in his third bout with the disease, which he said can take a toll on day-to-day activities.

“I never know from day to day how I’m gonna feel when I wake up and that’s the frustrating part of all of it,” Sanders said. “I know it’s all working, like people say, rarely do people anymore die from this. You may die with it, and that’s the hard part.”

Former President Biden has mostly remained out of the public eye since leaving office. His first public appearance since then came in Chicago last month, and he has since mentioned that his cognitive abilities were okay.

Sanders believes battling this cancer at Biden’s age of 82 could be much more difficult.

“That’s what I worry about, because I’m tired,” Sanders said. “I’m not that old, but I’m tired, so I can only imagine, because he already had some health challenges.”

ABC7 Chicago’s Maher Kawash contributed to this report.