Former US President Joe Biden Diagnosed With Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Washington:
United States’ former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, the Democrat’s office announced on Sunday. The press statement said the Democratic leader was diagnosed with the disease after he experienced urinary symptoms, and a prostate nodule was found. Now, the Biden family was reviewing options for possible treatment plans.
“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 said.
The 82-year-old leader’s son, Beau Biden, also died of cancer in 2015. According to the statement, Biden’s cancer was found to have “a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5).”
Prostate cancer that looks “very abnormal” is assigned the highest rating, Grade 5, according to the American Cancer Society. The Gleason Score goes up to 10, indicating the seriousness of Biden’s disease.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with the American Cancer Society reporting that one in eight men in the United States is diagnosed with it over their lifetime. While it is highly treatable if discovered early, it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, the organisation said.
Old Colleagues React
US President Donald Trump, who has long derided political rival Biden over his 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,” Republican Trump said on Truth Social, 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.
“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 continued.
Former President Barak Obama also wished for Biden’s full recovery in a message on X. “Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family. 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. We pray for a fast and full recovery,” he wrote.
Biden was forced to drop his reelection bid in July last year after a disastrous debate against Trump, which led to chatter about his declining health and cognitive abilities. This shifted the support towards Harris as she stepped up to the plate, but she eventually lost to Trump.
Biden, who beat Trump at the polls in 2020, has maintained that he could have won the 2024 election too, but questions have long swirled over the responses of staff and key Democrats to his decline.
They have flared with the upcoming release of a new book on his “disastrous” choice to run again, and the publication last week of a recording of him speaking hesitantly and struggling to recall key events and dates.
Old Remark Surfaces
Amid his diagnosis, Biden’s old remark from 2022 on having cancer surfaced on Sunday. Back then, speaking from a former coal-fired power plant in Massachusetts, Biden said he had cancer.
“And guess what? The first frost, you knew what was happening. You had to put on your windshield wipers to get, literally, the oil slick off the window. That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up (with) have cancer and why can — for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation,” he had said.
Biden says that his mother using windshield wipers to “get literally the oil slick off the window” is “why I and so damn many other people have cancer.” pic.twitter.com/YIoBlZadRJ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 20, 2022
The comment soon raised concerns, following which the White House clarified that the then-President was referring to his skin cancer that was removed before he became president.
