Former United States President Joe Biden’s most cancers prognosis has rekindled questions on whether or not he deceived the general public about his well being whereas in workplace, along with his successor, Donald Trump, including his voice to these suggesting a cover-up.
Chatting with reporters on the White Home on Monday, President Trump forged doubt on the timing of Biden’s superior most cancers prognosis amid renewed scrutiny of the previous president’s bodily and psychological health throughout his tenure.
“I’m stunned that the general public wasn’t notified a very long time in the past,” Trump informed reporters on the White Home.
“Why did it take so lengthy? This takes a very long time. It could possibly take years to get this stage of hazard,” Trump added, referring to the superior nature of Biden’s most cancers.
“So, look, it’s a really unhappy state of affairs, I really feel very badly about it. And I feel folks ought to attempt to discover out what occurred.”
Trump additionally mentioned that docs who had examined Biden whereas in workplace have been “not telling the info”.
“That’s an enormous downside,” he mentioned.
Biden’s workplace mentioned in a press release on Sunday that the previous president was identified with an aggressive type of prostate most cancers that had unfold to his bones.
The assertion mentioned Biden was identified on Friday after experiencing “rising urinary signs” and that he and his household have been reviewing therapy choices.
Docs graded Biden’s most cancers with a rating of 9 beneath the Gleason classification system – which generally classifies prostate most cancers between 6 and 10 – in line with the assertion, indicating it’s among the many most aggressive sorts.
Late-stage prostate most cancers has a median five-year survival charge of 28 p.c, in line with Johns Hopkins Medication.
Biden earlier on Monday expressed gratitude to well-wishers for his or her phrases of assist and encouragement.
“Most cancers touches us all,” Biden wrote on social media.
“Like so lots of you, Jill and I’ve discovered that we’re strongest within the damaged locations. Thanks for lifting us up with love and assist.”
Most cancers touches us all. Like so lots of you, Jill and I’ve discovered that we’re strongest within the damaged locations. Thanks for lifting us up with love and assist. pic.twitter.com/oSS1vGIiwU
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) Could 19, 2025
The information of Biden’s most cancers prognosis got here as the previous president’s well being was already beneath renewed scrutiny forward of the publication of a brand new ebook detailing the alleged cover-up of his bodily and psychological deterioration by his internal circle.
Authentic Sin, written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, comprises varied damning accounts of Biden’s alleged decline, together with an incident by which the then-president was reportedly unable to recognise Hollywood actor George Clooney at a 2024 fundraiser.
In his feedback on Biden’s prognosis on Monday, Trump drew a hyperlink between the previous president’s most cancers and the alleged concealment of his psychological acuity.
“In case you have a look, it’s the identical physician that mentioned Joe was cognitively advantageous, there was nothing incorrect with him,” Trump mentioned.
“There are issues occurring that the general public wasn’t knowledgeable of, and I feel any individual goes to have to talk to his physician,” he added.
Some docs have publicly questioned the account of Biden’s most cancers prognosis offered by his workplace, mentioning that such superior most cancers would have needed to progress over a interval of years.
“For even with probably the most aggressive kind, it’s a 5-7 12 months journey with out therapy earlier than it turns into metastatic,” Steven Quay, a pathologist who’s the chief govt of biopharmaceutical firm Atossa Therapeutics, mentioned in a put up on X.
“Which means, it will be malpractice for this affected person to indicate up and be first identified with metastatic illness in Could 2025. It’s extremely doubtless he was carrying a prognosis of prostate most cancers all through his White Home tenure and the American folks have been uninformed.”
Howard P Forman, a professor of radiology at Yale College, mentioned it was “inconceivable” that Biden’s most cancers was not detected earlier than he left workplace, as it will have been picked up by a blood take a look at often called a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) take a look at.
“Gleason grade 9 would have had an elevated PSA stage for a while earlier than this prognosis. And he will need to have had a PSA take a look at quite a few occasions earlier than. That is odd,” Forman mentioned in a put up on X.
Nonetheless, Peter Nelson, an oncologist on the Fred Hutchinson Most cancers Middle in Seattle, mentioned it’s doable for prostate most cancers to develop and unfold quickly in a brief time period, although it’s extra frequent for it to stay localised with out detection for years earlier than progressing to different elements of the physique.
“It’s doable for prostate most cancers to develop after which unfold in a really brief time span – by brief, inside one to 2 years,” Nelson informed Al Jazeera.
“So, sure, it’s credible {that a} man of his age and place might have his most cancers develop and progress with out detection. This is able to not be frequent, however positively occurs,” Nelson mentioned.
Daniel W Lin, a prostate most cancers skilled at UW Medication in Washington state, mentioned that whereas Biden has “very doubtless” had most cancers for years, it’s doable he was not given a PSA take a look at.
“There are screening controversies with using PSA, and plenty of medical teams don’t advocate PSA testing after 70 or 75 years of age, though others advocate primarily based on life expectancy or state of well being somewhat than age cut-points,” Lin informed Al Jazeera.
Lin mentioned it was additionally doable that Biden has a rarer type of most cancers that’s not detectable by the take a look at.
“This example is much less frequent, however not thought-about overly uncommon. Moreover, when this example happens, it’s extra frequent in high-grade cancers, similar to former President Biden’s case,” he mentioned.
“Enjoying the chances, he doesn’t fall into this class, nonetheless, it may positively happen.”
Peter Black, director of the Vancouver Prostate Centre in Canada, mentioned Biden’s most cancers going undetected in checks can be his finest guess for the apparently sudden prognosis.
“My finest guess is that he has had a PSA accomplished yearly for a very long time as a result of that’s what you’ll anticipate for a US senator/vice chairman/president, and that he truly has an age-appropriate PSA that didn’t elevate any alarms,” Black informed Al Jazeera.
“A prognosis of metastatic prostate most cancers is normally related to a really excessive PSA, however in a small minority of sufferers, the PSA is definitely regular,” he mentioned.
