Former US President Joe Biden Diagnosed With 'aggressive Form' Of Prostate Cancer

NEW YORK, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2025) Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has spread to the bone, a family spokesperson said in a statement Sunday evening.

Biden, 82, was diagnosed on May 16 after "experiencing urinary symptoms," and a "nodule" was discovered on his prostate, according to the statement. While the diagnosis indicates the former president has one of the worst forms of the disease, it "appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management," the spokesperson said in Greenville, Delaware, where the former president lives.

"The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians," the statement added.

Biden, who served as president from 2021 to 2025, abruptly ended his reelection bid last July, weeks after a halting performance during a debate against then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prompted panic among his fellow Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris took over as the party's nominee but lost in November to Trump.

Biden's physical health and mental acuity drew intense media scrutiny even before the debate. At the time of his election, Biden was the oldest person to win the presidency — Trump, 78, broke that record when he defeated Harris in 2024.

Biden previously served as vice president under former President Barack Obama and as a United States senator who was first elected to the office in 1972.

Biden’s cancer diagnosis came on the same day audio was published of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. The former president’s halting speech and memory lapses in the interview – and new books about Biden – have renewed questions about his fitness when he ran in 2024 to serve a second term.

Biden said in a May 8 interview on ABC’s "The View" of allegations he suffered cognitive decline: "They are wrong." He maintained he would’ve won if he stayed in the race.

The Biden family has been devastated by cancer before. The former president’s son, Beau Biden, died of a brain tumor in 2015.

Support for Biden quickly poured in from across the political sphere after the news of his diagnosis.

President Donald Trump said in a statement with his wife, Melania, that they were "saddened" to hear about the diagnosis.

"We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery," Trump wrote.

Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential race after an acrimonious campaign.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who served under Biden and took over the Democratic nomination after he dropped out of the race last year, said in a statement with her husband that they are "hopeful for a full and speedy recovery."

"Joe is a fighter - and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership," Ms. Harris added.

Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a social media message from another account stating: "politics aside, we wish him a speedy recovery!"

In a statement, Obama said he and his wife, Michelle Obama, are thinking of the 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," the former president said on X. "We pray for a fast and full recovery."

Among those wishing Biden well was former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

"My friend Joe Biden’s always been a fighter," Bill Clinton posted on social media. "Hillary and I are rooting for him and are keeping him, Jill, and the entire family in our thoughts."

Biden had a routine physical in February 2024 during the last year of his presidency. The doctor’s report said he was “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male.”

The doctors said he was receiving treatment for sleep apnea and that all of his other medical conditions remain “stable and well controlled.”

APP/ift