Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office revealed on Sunday, 18 May. The 82-year-old statesman visited a doctor for urinary symptoms last week. A nodule was found in his organ during the examination, which led to the diagnosis.
The press release by his family goes on to describe it as ‘a more aggressive form of the disease’ with a ‘Gleason score of 9’. The Gleason scale was created by Dr Donald F Gleason in 1966, and it grades how much a person’s cells have been affected by prostate cancer on a scale of 6 to 10. So, evidently, President Biden’s score of 9 suggests severe damage. However, his family has also pointed out that ‘the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management’.
After the announcement, President Biden received bipartisan messages of support, coming from figures such as his Vice President Kamala Harris, Former President Barack Obama, under whom he served as Vice President, and his predecessor-successor President Donald Trump. President Trump wrote on his own social media platform, Truth Social: ‘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.’
President Biden took office as the oldest President in US history in 2021, at age 78. That record has since been surpassed by President Trump, who started his second, non-consecutive term in 2025, also at age 78, closer to his 79th birthday than Joe Biden.
Throughout his presidency, President Biden had to face constant scrutiny about his advanced age and diminished mental capacity. The audio recordings of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur have recently been released. The questioning took place in the fall of 2023, as part of an investigation into the President’s alleged mishandling of classified information. After the interview, Hur did not recommend indictment, as he suspected a jury would be too sympathetic to the defendant, whom he described as ‘a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’. As he noted, during the interview, President Biden could not recall the dates of major events of his life, such as when he served as Vice President, or when his son died.
His son Beau Biden was also diagnosed with cancer. He died of a brain tumour at the age of 46 in 2015.
It is possible that President Biden’s cancer affected his ever-questioned mental capacity in his time of office as well. After a very poor debate performance at an unusually early time, in June 2024, he was pressured by members of his own party to step down from his reelection bid the next month. Thus, he became only the second President in US history not to run for reelection despite being eligible under the conditions of the 22nd Amendment after Lyndon B Johnson in 1968.
Just like Johnson, he was replaced by his own Vice President on the Democratic Party ticket. However, Kamala Harris lost the election to Former President Donald Trump.
Joe Biden was first elected to the US Senate to represent the state of Delaware in 1972. He served in the upper chamber of Congress for 36 years straight, which is the 19th longest tenure for a Senator in US history.
He held the office of Vice President under President Barack Obama between 2009 and 2017. In 2020, he was elected the 46th President of the United States, but ended up serving only one term.
UPDATE: Joe Biden Speaks Out After Cancer Diagnosis Made Public
President Biden posted to his social media on Monday, 19 May. This is the first public statement he made after his prostate cancer diagnosis was made public. He thanked everyone for their support in battling the disease, along with a picture of his wife Jill and their pet cat.
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