Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer after leaving the White House last spring
Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Former first lady Jill Biden said it was “shocking” when her husband, former President Joe Biden, was diagnosed with cancer shortly after leaving the White House
- The former president was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones last May
- Jill reflected on the diagnosis in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning that is set to air in full on Sunday, May 31
Former first lady Jill Biden said it was "shocking” when her husband, former President Joe Biden, was diagnosed with cancer last year, less than six months after leaving the White House.
The former president, then 82, revealed he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer last May. A spokesperson said at the time that Joe had been seen by a doctor “for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” and was subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the spokesperson said, adding that Joe and his family were “reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
In a recent interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Jill, 74, described her alarm at learning of her husband’s diagnosis.
“I can remember getting the diagnosis, and it was just, it was shocking,” she said in a 40-second snippet of the interview shared by the program on Friday, May 29.
The interview will air in full on Sunday, May 31.
The former first lady said her husband’s doctor had told them that, according to the American Urological Association, men over 70 do not require routine blood tests to screen for prostate cancer, because the disease is slow-growing.
“I do feel we had amazing care in the White House, but somehow that was missed,” she said of Joe’s cancer.
Credit: Derek White/Getty
The former president addressed his diagnosis shortly after it was made public. “Cancer touches us all,” he wrote the following day on social media. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
Later that summer, his son, Hunter Biden, said Joe’s cancer had spread to his spinal cord. “They can treat it, but it's not curable,” Hunter told podcaster Andrew Callaghan in a July interview.
Joe completed a course of radiation treatment in October. His daughter, Ashley Biden, shared the news and a video of her father ringing the celebratory bell at Penn Medicine’s Radiation Oncology clinic in Philadelphia on Oct. 21.
“Dad has been so damn brave throughout his treatment,” she captioned the post on her Instagram story. “Grateful.”
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In September, Joe also underwent Mohs surgery, a procedure used to treat skin cancer. In 2023, while still in office, doctors removed a cancerous lesion from Joe’s chest.
The former first lady’s reflection on her husband’s cancer diagnosis comes as she looks back on some of her most poignant moments from the White House, including her distress in watching Joe’s calamitous 2024 debate performance unfold in real time.
Jill’s forthcoming memoir, View From the East Wing, is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 2.
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