Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer

Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, according to a statement released by his office on Sunday. Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday, after he saw a doctor last week for urinary symptoms. The former US president and his family are now reviewing treatment options, with the cancer cells now having spread to the bone.

Prostate cancers are ranked on a “Gleason score” that measures, on a scale of one to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s office said his score was nine, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.

However, the former president’s office says that “the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.” Biden, of course, has dealt with cancer before. Prior to being inaugurated in January 2021, he had several non-melanoma skin cancers surgically removed, and he had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest in February 2023. He notably made cancer a priority of his administration, declaring in 2022 that he wanted to halve the death rate within 25 years.

The news of Biden’s condition follows a Democrat war-of-words over his so-called “redemption tour.” In recent weeks, the ex-president has given his first interviews since leaving office. The octogenarian has tried to defend his legacy, amid a wave of damning accounts on his mental decline in office. Now, all that will be brought to a halt by the news of his latest diagnosis.