Former President Joe Biden is battling what his spokesperson called on Sunday an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer.
The New York Times and other outlets reported on May 17 that the 46th president, out of office for less than five months, had been diagnosed with the illness after doctors found and evaluated a “small nodule” on his prostate. The nodule was detected during an examination of the 82-year-old former president at a Philadelphia hospital on Friday.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” the Biden spokesperson said in a statement. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Prostate cancer, according to the New York City Health Department, is the second-most common form of cancer among men in the Big Apple; only skin cancer afflicts more men in the city. Symptoms are rare in the early stages, but can often mimic those of an enlarged prostate, such as frequent urination.
During the final year of his presidency in 2024, the New York Times reported that Biden was given a clean bill of health in his annual physical.
Nationally, the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 320,000 men will be diagnosed this year with prostate cancer; about 6 in 10 of those new cases will be among men age 60 and older. More than 3.3 million people living in the U.S. today are prostate cancer survivors. One in every 44 prostate cancer cases, however, is fatal.
The disease is considered treatable if detected early through medical evaluations such as PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood tests. Men over the age of 50 or who have a history of prostate cancer in their family should be tested.
