Biden’s first remarks following cancer announcement; Philly oncologist calls diagnosis ‘unusual’
'Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,' Biden wrote on social media Monday.
Former President Joe Biden issued his first public words Monday morning after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote on social media. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
On Friday, Biden, 82, was diagnosed with an aggressive former of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, according to a statement from the former president’s office.
Prostate cancer is graded on a scale from 6-10, which is known as a Gleason score. The higher the number, the more aggressive the cancer. Biden’s office said his score was a 9, though they did offer hope about treatment.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” Biden’s office said in a statement. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center told the Associated Press. “Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.”
Biden recovered from skin cancer in February 2023 after doctors removed a lesion from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma. He also had a benign polyp removed from his colon in November 2021.
Biden’s oldest son, Beau Biden, died from brain cancer in 2015. The death motivated the former president to focus on a “cancer moonshot,” with a goal of reducing cancer’s death rate.
“I plan on doing this the rest of my life,” Biden said at the University of Pennsylvania announcing the initiative in January 2016.
Reaction to Biden’s diagnosis
President Donald Trump, a vocal critic and Biden’s former opponent, issued a brief statement on social media Sunday, writing that he and first lady Melania Trump were “saddened” about the diagnosis.
“We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Former President Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president, wrote he and former first lady Michelle Obama were praying for Biden’s “fast and full recovery.”
“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,” Obama wrote.
“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,” wrote former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a cancer survivor who was successfully treated for what he described as a “mild” form of prostate cancer in 2016, also had the former president in his thoughts.
“As a prostate cancer survivor, my thoughts and prayers go out to the president and his family and I wish him nothing but the best,” Wolf told The Inquirer.
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a longtime ally of Biden’s, underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2023, after which he said he did not expect to require further treatment.
“Terese and I are sending our prayers to President Biden, Dr. Biden, and their entire family, and we wish him well in his treatment and recovery,” Casey said.
‘He’s had this for many years’
Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist who chairs the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said Biden’s diagnosis is “unusual” in that just 7% of prostate cancer diagnoses happen when a lesion is found within the bone, making it metastatic and incurable.
Emanuel, who also served on Biden’s COVID-19 task force, said the former president has likely lived with an undiagnosed form of prostate cancer for “a decade,” possibly during his entire four years as president.
“He’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading,” Emanuel said during an interview on MSNBC Monday morning. “He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days. He had it while he was president.”
The primary way to screen for prostate cancer is through a prostate-specific antigen exam, essentially a blood test. Emanuel said while some doctors recommend not doing the exam after the age of 70, other former presidents underwent the test, and Biden should have during his tenure as Obama’s vice president.
“It is a little surprising that the doctor didn’t take it,” Emanuel said. “And if he took it and didn’t report it and it was elevated, that is another case of doctors not being straightforward with us.”
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R., Texas) who served as the White House physician under several presidents before becoming an outspoken Trump supporter, wrote the diagnosis was “sad and unfortunate,” pointing his finger at Biden’s doctors.
“Unbelievable this was missed, but the truth is, his physician was more concerned about assisting with the political cover up than providing world class medical care,” Jackson wrote.
Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this report.