FORMER US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an ‘aggressive’ form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, and he is currently reviewing treatment options, a statement from his office said Sunday, May 18.
On Friday, the 82-year-old democrat was diagnosed with cancer after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms and being evaluated for a new finding of a prostate nodule, the statement said.
“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 added.
Cancer cells are commonly found in the prostates of men of Biden’s age, though in most cases they grow slowly.
According to the statement, Biden’s cancer was found to have “a Gleason score of nine (Grade Group five).
The cancer is a more aggressive form of the disease, characterised by a Gleason score of nine out of 10. This means his illness is classified as “high-grade” and that the cancer cells could spread quickly, according to Cancer Research UK.
The ICIR reports that Biden left office in January this year as the oldest serving US president in history, and was dogged by questions over his health and age for much of his presidency.
For years, he had faced questions, including from Democratic voters, over whether he was too old, lacking in mental acuity or physical endurance, for a job as trying as the presidency.
His response to doubters was brisk: “Watch me.”
However, in July last year, he was forced to drop his re-election bid after a disastrous debate against Republican Donald Trump in which fears about his decline and cognitive abilities came surging to the fore.
His vice, Kamala Harris, eventually lost to Trump.
Biden expressed belief that he could have won the election, but questions have long swirled over the responses of staff and key democrats to evident signs of his decline.
Last week, a newly published recording of Biden speaking hesitantly and struggling to remember key events and dates fueled renewed debate over his mental capabilities while still in office.
Going down memory lane, Biden’s life has been marked by personal tragedy. In 1972, his wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash, days after he had been elected as a US senator at the age of 29.
Biden underwent surgery twice in 1988 for brain aneurysms.
In 2023, he had a skin lesion — a basal cell carcinoma — removed from his chest. He had previously had non-melanoma skin cancers removed.
Biden’s son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in 2015.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.