Joe Biden has started radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told CNN.

“As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said.

The news was first reported by NBC News. A spokesperson for the former president, who turns 83 next month, did not give a timeline for the treatment. A source told CNN he began the treatment a few weeks ago.

Biden’s personal office revealed in May that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

“The expectation is we’re going to be able to beat this,” Biden told CNN in his first comments about the diagnosis two weeks after he received it. “It’s not in any organ, it’s in – my bones are strong, it hadn’t penetrated. So, I’m feeling good.”

He added that he started a pill regimen to treat the cancer.

“Prostate cancer is very common,” Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist and robotic surgeon with Orlando Health and an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine, who is not involved in Biden’s treatment, told CNN in May. “As we get older, most men are going to have little cancer cells in them.”

Prostate cancers can be assigned a grade, known as a Gleason score, based on what the cells look like under a microscope. Biden’s office announced in May a Gleason score of 9, “the most aggressive form of prostate cancer,” Dr. Benjamin Davies, a professor of urologic oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who is also not involved in Biden’s case, told CNN at the time.

Besides the Gleason score, factors like blood prostate-specific antigen levels, imaging tests and biopsy findings are important in determining how the cancer might behave and what treatment options would be best.

Even patients with high-risk prostate cancer “can live a pretty normal life and have a good quality of life, as long as the cancer is treated,” Brahmbhatt said. That treatment is personalized to each patient and might come in several forms, such as hormone therapy, chemotherapy or radiation.

The fact that Biden’s cancer had spread to the bone “is very serious and not curable,” Davies said. However, “There is some good news here in the newer hormonal and chemotherapy therapies (that have come) into this space in the past few years which have shown impressive results and extended the longevity of patients significantly.”

Last month, Biden had Mohs surgery, an operation used to remove skin cancer lesions. In that procedure, thin layers of skin are removed and examined under a microscope until the doctor sees no signs of skin cancer cells. It’s typically used to treat cancerous lesions that have returned after previous treatment, are fast-growing, or are in important areas like the face, hands or genitals.

In 2023 while president, Biden had a lesion removed from his chest, which later tested positive for basal cell carcinoma. At the time, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as Biden’s physician in the White House, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” and Biden would continue “dermatological surveillance.”

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer. It’s slow-growing and usually curable.+

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Joe Biden Still Bitter Over Being Forced Out of Presidential Race

Former U.S. President Joe Biden is reportedly struggling to adjust to a quieter life and remains bitter about being forced to withdraw from the presidential race, The Washington Post reported, citing sources close to him.

“After decades in politics, Biden is finding it difficult to adapt to a calmer, less public existence and still harbors resentment over being pressured to exit the 2024 presidential race,” the newspaper wrote.

According to The Washington Post, Biden “devours the news” and frequently discusses with a small circle of advisers whether he should respond to President Donald Trump’s recent remarks and actions—particularly the attacks Trump has directed at him. However, the report notes that Biden has largely chosen not to respond, believing that former presidents should rarely speak publicly about their successors.

The article also notes that Biden now spends most of his time working on his memoir and laying the groundwork for his presidential library. He is also undergoing radiation and hormone therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer.

Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July 2024 to make way for then–Vice President Kamala Harris, following a disastrous debate performance against Republican candidate Donald Trump, who later went on to win the election.

Biden and his team have long maintained that he was fully capable of continuing his campaign and had no desire to abandon his bid for reelection.

Former US President Biden undergoing radiation therapy for cancer, spokesperson says

The Democratic former president in May revealed that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. His team said the illness was aggressive but hormone-sensitive, meaning it was likely to respond to treatment.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jonathan Landay in Washington, Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Sergio Non and Andrea Ricci

Joe Biden undergoing radiation therapy as cancer care enters new phase

The radiation treatment, which is expected to span five weeks, marks a new point in the former president’s care.

Former President Joe Biden is undergoing a new phase of treatment for an aggressive form of cancer that was diagnosed in May, a spokesperson said Saturday.

“As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson for the former president said.

The radiation treatment is expected to span five weeks and marks a new point in his care, a source familiar told NBC News. He has already been taking a pill form of hormone medication.

Last month, Biden, 82, also had a skin cancer treatment known as Mohs surgery. A large bandage on his forehead was visible in public appearances at that time.

Following that procedure, his physician wrote in a memo that “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” and that “no further treatment is required.”

The former president announced in May that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already metastasized to his bones.

His office said at the time that he was pursuing several treatment options to ensure “effective management” of the illness.