Joe Biden’s office has announced that he has been diagnosed with an advanced form of prostate cancer:
The 82-year-old former president was diagnosed Friday after doctors found a “small nodule” on his prostate during a medical exam earlier this month — with the cancer cells having spread to the bone, his spokesman revealed Sunday.
His team said the cancer had been graded a Gleason score of 9, suggesting his form was among the most aggressive.
Many observers have wondered about the timing of this announcement. Was it intended to generate sympathy for Biden, and to deflect attention from recent revelations (not recent to us, but to reporters, supposedly) about Biden’s mental state?
I don’t know. But I agree with those who are puzzled by how this can be a recent medical discovery:
A handful of medical experts were quick to question how the former president could be diagnosed at such a late stage — especially given that prostate cancer can be detected early with routine bloodwork, which is recommended for men over the age of 50.
“It is inconceivable that this was not being followed before he left the Presidency,” Dr. Howard Formman said in a post on X.
“Gleason grade 9 would have had an elevated PSA level for some time before this diagnosis. And he must have had a PSA test numerous times before. This is odd,” he added. “I wish him well and hope he has an opportunity for maximizing his quality of life.”
Dr. Steven Quay flagged similar concerns, saying Biden’s type of cancer is the easiest to diagnose when it first starts and progresses.
“The PSA blood test shows the rate of cancer cell growth. For even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes metastatic,” he said.
“Meaning, it would be malpractice for this patient to show up and be first diagnosed with metastatic disease in May 2025,” he continued.
“It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed.”
These comments are consistent with my own experience. It seems incomprehensible that a president would not receive routine PSA tests, at least on an annual basis. Is Joe Biden’s cancer one more medical condition that was concealed from the American people? Was belated disclosure part of a plan to re-elect Biden, and then have him resign shortly into his second term, for medical reasons?
These are speculations in which I would not normally indulge. But the deception that Biden, his family, the White House and the press are known to have engaged in, over Biden’s mental condition, was so grotesque that such speculation is inevitable.
In any event, I join with President Trump in wishing Biden well as he grapples with cancer.
UPDATE: This is why so many are suspicious about the timing of Biden’s cancer announcement: CNN’s Axelrod suggests discussions around Biden’s mental acuity should be set aside amid cancer diagnosis.
