President Donald Trump has expressed sympathy to former President Joe Biden after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer said to have spread to his bones.
Biden, 82, received the diagnosis on Friday following a series of medical evaluations triggered by urinary symptoms, his office announced on Sunday.
According to the statement, the cancer is defined by a Gleason score of 9, a high-risk classification indicating a particularly aggressive type of prostate cancer.
Biden and his family are said to be reviewing treatment options with his medical team, the statement added.
Reacting to the news, Trump, who succeeded Biden after the 2024 election, wished him a speedy recovery in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump wrote.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president from 2009 to 2017, also extended his support.
“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe. I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery,” Obama wrote.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who succeeded Biden on the Democratic ticket after he exited the 2024 race, said Biden’s resilience would see him through this new challenge.
“Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” she said.
The diagnosis comes less than a year after Biden ended his bid for re-election in the 2024 presidential race. His withdrawal followed a widely criticised debate performance that intensified concerns about his health and cognitive fitness.
Just months earlier, in February 2024, Biden’s longtime physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor had described him as “fit to serve” during a routine medical examination. A follow-up in July characterised his condition as “excellent,” shortly after he exited the race.
Throughout his term as the 46th president of the United States, from 2021 to 2025, Biden faced persistent questions about his age and mental sharpness.
He was the oldest person ever elected to the presidency at the time.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 8% of prostate cancer diagnoses in 2021 involved cases where the disease had already spread beyond the prostate.
Cancers that spread, especially to the bone, are classified as Stage 4 and are no longer considered curable, although they can often be managed.
Dr. Herbert Lepor, an urologist at NYU Langone, noted that although a Gleason score of 9 is “very high risk,” many men can live “five to 10 years and beyond” with metastatic prostate cancer. Dr. Chris George, medical director of the cancer program for the Northwestern Health Network, added that such cancers are not curable once they spread to the bone, but “there are treatments that can control it.”
Biden’s personal history with cancer advocacy is well known.
In 2015, he lost his eldest son, Beau Biden, to brain cancer. In 2022, during his presidency, he relaunched the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative originally started under the Obama administration, pledging to cut the cancer death rate by at least 50% over the next 25 years.
Since leaving office in January 2025, Biden has kept a relatively low public profile, with limited appearances and a few interviews defending his record and legacy.
Earlier this month, he appeared on ABC’s “The View” to reject claims in two recently published books alleging cognitive decline in his final year in office.
