Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a statement released by his personal office.
The cancer is described as “aggressive” and has metastasized to his bones.
The statement outlines the timeline and seriousness of the diagnosis: “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, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”
Per CNN, doctors identified the cancer after Biden reported escalating urinary issues.
The discovery of a prostate nodule led to further testing, which confirmed a high-grade, advanced form of the disease.
The Gleason score of 9 places it in Grade Group 5, indicating one of the most severe classifications in prostate cancer diagnosis, and the presence of bone metastases further elevates the concern, Sky news reports.
Despite the grim nature of the diagnosis, Biden’s medical team remains cautiously optimistic about treatment options. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the statement said.
Biden and his family are currently in discussions with his medical team about potential treatment paths. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” the statement added.
Per the Mayo clinic, “The Gleason score and grade group are numbers that tell your healthcare team whether your prostate cancer is growing slowly or quickly. How quickly a cancer grows also is called a cancer’s grade.”
Biden’s Gleason score of 9 places it in the “Grade group 5” – and suggests the cancer is likely to grow quickly.
The former POTUS has largely stayed out of the spotlight since leaving office, but he’s recently begun making more public appearances.
Earlier this month, he and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, were guests on ABC’s The View, where he addressed claims that his mental sharpness had declined during his last year as president.
“They are wrong,” Biden said confidently. “There is nothing to sustain that.”
Former FLOTUS Jill also defended her husband, saying: “The people who wrote those books weren’t in the White House with us, and they didn’t see how hard Joe worked every single day. He’d get up, he’d put in a full day and then at night, I’d be in bed reading my book, and he was still on the phone, reading his briefings, working with staff.”
Biden, who left office in January, has not publicly addressed the cancer diagnosis himself as of yet.
