Joe Biden, the former US president, has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his personal office announced on Sunday.
The 82-year-old was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. Biden and his family are considering options for treatment.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Prostate cancers are given a score called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of one to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s office said his score was nine, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.
Glad they specified Biden’s recent position. I can’t help but think what the alternate timeline where he stayed in office would look like with this diagnosis.
Oddly enough, this is a result of Trump. Before him, presidents left office and stayed out of politics. Sure, they did private speeches and ribbon-cuttings at their libraries – along with being available for advising the new incumbent across party lines, which we rarely heard about in full – but that was it.