Biden met with doctors last week after experiencing urological symptoms and a small lump was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday and the cancer is said to have spread to the skeleton.
"While it is an aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which opens up for effective treatment," his staff writes in a press release.
"The President and his family are exploring treatment options together with doctors," it says further.
Matthew Smith, a doctor at the cancer treatment center at Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital, tells AP that the possibility for such type of cancer has generally improved in recent years.
It is very treatable, but not curable. Most men in this situation would be treated with medication and would not be recommended to undergo either surgery or radiation therapy, he says.
Trump: Sorry
Current President Donald Trump writes that he and his wife Melania Trump are sorry about the news.
"We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill (Biden, Joe Biden's wife) and we wish Joe a quick and successful recovery," he writes on Truth social.
Even Kamala Harris, who was Vice President during Joe Biden's term, sends a greeting.
"Joe is a fighter – and I know he will take on this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that has always defined his life and leadership," she writes on X.
Considered wheelchair
The 82-year-old Biden's health has been the subject of discussion throughout his term. After a disastrous performance in a televised debate against Donald Trump in June last year, he gave up his plans to run for a second term as president, in favor of his Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to a recently published book by CNN journalist Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, Biden's health deteriorated significantly during 2023 and 2024 – to such an extent that advisors considered letting him use a wheelchair.
In February 2023, a skin sample from the ex-president showed cancer cells were found. The cancer tissue was removed and no further treatment was deemed necessary.
