Former US President Joe Biden Undergoes Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Strategic Insights -

Former US President Joe Biden is currently receiving radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer. According to his spokesman, the 82-year-old is also undergoing hormone treatment, but no further details were provided. Biden's radiation therapy is expected to span five weeks, marking a new stage in his care. In May, his office announced that he had been diagnosed with a more aggressive form of the disease that had spread to his bones.

Key Takeaways:

  • Joe Biden, the 82-year-old former US President, is undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer as part of his treatment.
  • His radiation therapy is expected to last for five weeks.
  • Biden was diagnosed with a more aggressive form of prostate cancer in May, which had spread to his bones.
  • His cancer was classified as "high-grade" with a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), meaning the cancer cells can spread quickly.
  • Biden's cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.
  • The "cancer moonshot" initiative, relaunched by Biden and his wife Jill in 2022, aims to prevent more than four million cancer deaths by 2047.
  • Biden has faced questions about his health during his first term, leading him to end his run for re-election in the 2024 campaign.
  • He has lost his eldest son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015 and has been treated twice for skin cancer in 2023 and 2025.
  • Biden has largely retreated from the public eye in recent months.

Statistics:

  • 13 out of every 100 men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer affecting men, behind skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
  • The "cancer moonshot" initiative aims to prevent more than four million cancer deaths by 2047.
  • Biden's radiation therapy is expected to last for five weeks.

Sources:

  • NBC News
  • BBC
  • CBS News
  • Ada Derana
  • BBC - Agencies
  • The American Cancer Society
  • The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)