Former United States President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer.
A statement issued by his office on Sunday, May 18, 2025, said the cancer has spread to Biden’s bones.
The statement said the 82-year-old former president was diagnosed with the cancer after he experienced increasing urinary symptoms and was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule on Friday, May 16.
“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,” it added .
United States President Donald Trump, who has long derided Biden over his age – despite being just four years younger – and cognitive abilities, said he was “saddened” by the news.
“We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump said on Truth Social of his political rival, referring to Biden’s wife, Jill Biden.
“Joe is a fighter,” Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, who stepped in as Democratic nominee in the battle against Trump after Biden dropped out of last year’s presidential election, said in a post on X.
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“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,” she added.
Former President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Biden, his former vice president, lauding his toughness.
“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 on social media.
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.
Cancer cells are commonly found in the prostates of men of Biden’s age, though in most cases they grow slowly.
Hormone therapy is a common treatment that can shrink tumors and slow cancer growth, but is not a cure.
Prostate cancer that looks “very abnormal” is assigned the highest rating, Grade 5, according to the American Cancer Society. The Gleason Score often indicates the sum of the grades from the two areas in the prostate that make up most of the cancer, but can also be calculated other ways.
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