Biden is diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer

President Joe Biden arrives for a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, July 3, 2024. Biden was diagnosed Friday, May 16, 2025, with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, a spokesman said on Sunday. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

By Tyler Pager

Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed Friday with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement on Sunday.

The diagnosis came after Biden reported urinary symptoms, which led doctors to find a “small nodule” on his prostate. Biden’s cancer is “characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement said.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” according to the statement from Biden’s office, which was unsigned. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Biden, 82, left office in January as the oldest-serving president in American history. Throughout his presidency, Biden faced questions about his age and his health, which ultimately led him to abandon his reelection campaign.

Since leaving office, Biden has largely kept a low profile, spending most of his time in Delaware and commuting to Washington to meet with staff to plan his post-presidential life. After President Donald Trump passed the 100-day mark, and before the release of books about his presidency and the 2024 campaign, Biden participated in interviews to push back against claims that he suffered from mental decline.

“They are wrong,” Biden said during an interview on “The View.” “There’s nothing to sustain that.”

But the revelations have forced many top Democrats to grapple with their staunch support of Biden’s reelection campaign before a disastrous debate last June, in which he appeared disoriented and listless.

Adding fuel to the fire was the release this weekend of the audio from Biden’s 2023 interview with Robert Hur, the special counsel who investigated his handling of classified documents. Axios published the full five-hour tape before the Trump administration’s plans to release it this week, and it reveals Biden’s fragile voice and his difficulty providing dates and details.