Former President Joe Biden begins five-week radiation and hormone therapy as doctors confront an “aggressive,” bone-metastasized prostate cancer, his office confirms
Joe Biden has begun a new round of cancer treatment as doctors move to contain what his team describes as an “aggressive” return of prostate cancer. At 82, the former president is undergoing external-beam radiation alongside hormone therapy, a combined plan his spokesperson says was launched this month after follow-up scans and lab work showed renewed tumor activity. The treatments mark the most intensive phase of Biden’s care since his post-presidential diagnosis in May.
According to briefings shared with multiple national outlets on Saturday, Biden’s cancer was classified with a Gleason score of 9 — among the highest risk categories — and had already metastasized to bone by the time it was detected in the spring. That detail, disclosed when his office first confirmed the diagnosis, helps explain the urgency behind today’s protocol: radiation to target known and suspected sites of disease, paired with hormone therapy to deprive cancer cells of the signals they need to grow.
Advisers say the former president is in good spirits and continuing a narrowed public schedule while receiving care. People familiar with the plan describe a course of radiation expected to last about five weeks, administered on weekdays, with oral hormone medication taken at home — standard for high-risk, hormone-sensitive prostate cancers. Early reports from those close to Biden frame the response as “encouraging,” though doctors caution that the next set of imaging and PSA blood tests will be the real measure of progress.
The new phase follows a difficult summer for Biden’s health. In September, he underwent Mohs surgery to remove cancerous skin cells from his forehead — a separate, non-melanoma issue that his team said was caught early and fully excised. That procedure underscored how aggressively his medical staff has been pursuing screening and treatment on multiple fronts while keeping him active and visible when cleared.
Public disclosures about cancer naturally spark anxiety, but oncologists note that the path Biden is on is a familiar one for many older men. When prostate cancer escapes the gland and moves to the bones or lymph nodes, physicians often turn to androgen-deprivation therapy — the class of drugs Biden is now taking — because many tumors remain hormone-sensitive even when they spread. Radiation can then be aimed with precision at the prostate bed and involved sites to reduce pain, slow growth, and, in some cases, send the disease into durable remission. In plain terms, while the word “aggressive” rightly signals seriousness, it does not equate to hopelessness — particularly when treatment begins promptly and the tumors still respond to hormones, as Biden’s doctors have indicated.
News of the new regimen comes amid the relentless rhythm of American politics, but those around Biden say his focus is squarely on health and family. Staff who have worked with him for years describe a familiar routine: early-morning briefings, a carefully managed block for medical visits, and phone calls with allies and friends during the quieter evening hours. The cadence is slower than his White House pace, they concede, but the discipline — the determination to keep moving — is unchanged.
For millions of families touched by cancer, the story feels recognizable. A scare. A plan. Then the long, steady work of showing up for treatment, one day after the next. Biden has spoken often about that experience, especially after losing his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015. Now, as he navigates his own fight, the public messages remain measured and simple: gratitude for the medical teams, appreciation for privacy, and confidence in the science guiding his care.
The coming weeks will bring the first tangible signs of how well this new plan is working. Doctors will watch for falling PSA levels, improved scans, and how he tolerates therapy — the usual milestones patients and families track together. For now, the facts are straightforward and clear: Joe Biden has begun radiation and hormone therapy for an aggressive, yet hormone-sensitive, prostate cancer; the course is slated to run roughly five weeks; and those closest to him say he is handling it with the steadiness that has defined so much of his public life.
