Former President Joe Biden has issued a new health update marking Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, urging men to seek early screening while confirming his own radiation treatment succeeded.
Biden, 83, disclosed in a social media post that his cancer had already reached his bones by the time of detection. “By the time we found it, it had already spread to my bones,” he wrote. “When prostate cancer is caught early, the five-year survival is close to 100%.”
The former president completed treatment for stage four prostate cancer last October, a diagnosis that came after he left the White House. He credited his medical team with enabling him to finish “Promise Me, America,” his memoir slated for November publication. “Their skill, dedication, and compassion mean so much. The radiation treatment from last fall worked as intended, and I continue to do the things I care about, like finishing my memoir,” he said.
Hunter Biden offered a starkly different assessment of his father’s condition in August, describing the disease as severely limiting. “The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter said. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many respects.”
First Lady Jill Biden has publicly faulted White House physicians for the late diagnosis and acknowledged her own hesitation in pressing her husband to seek medical attention despite noticing frequent nighttime urination—a hallmark symptom. Men in Biden’s age bracket typically do not receive routine screening for the disease.
She predicted in June that her husband would never fully escape the illness. “I think if he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, that’s one thing because that can be cured, but the fact that it metastasized to his bones, that makes it a whole different story,” she said. “So I think Joe will live with cancer till the rest of his life.”
Biden’s message emphasized collective action over individual struggle, framing his family’s experience as a cautionary tale. “It’s my hope and prayer that by sharing our experience and being part of this important conversation, we can help save lives. Talk to your doctors. Ask the hard questions. Do it for yourself, and do it for the people who love you,” he wrote.
The American Cancer Society projects approximately 333,830 new prostate cancer cases in the United States for 2026, making it the second most common cancer in men globally. Biden did not indicate whether further treatment lies ahead.
The former president is scheduled to appear alongside former presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan for the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks.