Former president Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer on Friday, his personal office said in a statement.
The diagnosis follows an announcement last week that during “a routine physical exam,” Biden’s doctors discovered a “small nodule” on his prostate that they said required “further evaluation.”
“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, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement said.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the statement continued. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
The American Cancer Society estimates that one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime with risk depending on age, race, ethnicity, and other factors.
Biden’s age and health decline has been an ongoing conversation given new life ahead of the release of a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson —Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again — about the former president’s decision to run for re-election in 2024.
Aides reportedly attempted to cover up Biden’s cognitive decline and discussed putting Biden in a wheelchair should he have another bad fall, the book said. Biden withdrew from the race last summer following an abysmal performance at a June debate against Trump, even as the White House defended the president as being “sharp as ever.” The authors, who spoke to more than 200 sources for the book, concluded that Biden’s refusal to step aside until late in the race played a large role in Trump’s electoral win.
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Biden was the oldest U.S. president at age 82 when he left office. Donald Trump, who in taking the oath of office became the oldest president in history to be inaugurated, will be 82 at the end of his current term.
This breaking news story has been updated.
From Rolling Stone US
