Key Points – Former US President Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with an aggressive, metastatic prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office announced Sunday, May 18th.
-The Gleason score 9 cancer is not considered curable, but is hormone-sensitive, allowing for life-extending treatment options which his team is currently reviewing.
-The diagnosis has immediately fueled speculation, notably from figures like Dr. Zeke Emanuel, that Biden may have been aware of and concealed the condition during his presidency.
-While plausible, there is currently no concrete evidence of prior concealment, and rapid cancer progression is also a possibility.
Joe Biden Gets a Tragic Cancer Diagnosis
Former President Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones, his office announced on Sunday, May 18. The diagnosis, according to the official statement, came after doctors were made aware of urinary symptoms and discovered a prostate nodule. A biopsy confirmed a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), indicating a highly aggressive form of the cancer.
Is It Curable?
No. President Biden’s cancer is not considered curable at this time, although according to his office’s statement, it is hormone-sensitive, meaning several treatment options are available that will extend the former president’s life and allow him to manage the disease for some time. The statement concluded by stating that his medical team and family are currently reviewing treatment options available to him.
Did Biden Hide His Diagnosis?
The news that the former president has been diagnosed with an advanced form of prostate cancer has led many conservative commentators, journalists, and even medical professionals to speculate whether a prior diagnosis may have been hidden from the American public.
Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, Dr. Zeke Emanuel argued that it was not possible for the former president to have developed a cancer this aggressive within the last 100 or 200 days.
“He did not develop it in the last 100, 200 days. He had it while he was President. He probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021… I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that,” Dr. Emanuel noted.
A video of the former president speaking in July, 2022, also went viral in the wake of the news. In the clip, the president admits that he had cancer at the time, noting, “That’s why I and so many other people have cancer.”
Viewers were quick to note, however, that the former president may have been referring to basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, that he had removed in 2023.
Did Biden Know?
The reality is that it is entirely plausible, or even likely, that the former president has been living with prostate cancer for some time. The question, however, is if the president was aware of it – and indeed if he and his doctors chose to conceal the news from the American public. These are questions that likely will never be answered publicly, however, making any commentary on the announcement is nothing more than speculation.
Prostate cancer, in many cases, is a manageable condition. Modern medicine may mitigate the damage caused to the body by the disease, allowing many men diagnosed in older age to live long and generally healthy lives. If it is indeed the case that the former president was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer and chose to conceal it, the decision may have been made on the basis that, at least at the time, the condition was completely manageable and was not believed to pose an immediate threat to the health of the president.
For many Americans, however, choosing to hide a condition like this constitutes a betrayal of his own voters, as well as the American public more broadly. For the office of the former president, his family, and his supporters, on the other hand, it might simply not have been relevant to the work he was doing as president at the time.
We do not, however, know for sure that the former president chose to hide a prior diagnosis. There is no evidence to suggest that this is the case beyond speculation about the suddenly aggressive nature of the disease.
Thinking Through the Scenarios
While some doctors have said it is inconceivable that the diagnosis is new, this accusation does not account for the possibility that the prostate cancer has been developing for some time and that his doctors were not aware of it. Furthermore, the possibility of this aggressive cancer developing quickly cannot be completely discounted. Though rare, prostate cancer can remain asymptomatic for many years and suddenly progress to a very aggressive state. High-grade cancers may spread rapidly beyond the prostate and become symptomatic in a short span of time, and without access to the former president’s medical documents, it is simply impossible to know whether that is the case or not.
While Republicans are likely to argue that this is evidence of yet another Biden coverup, the reality is that the public will likely never know the truth. Without evidence of a prior diagnosis, nobody can prove anything was hidden from the American people.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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