Former US President Joe Biden/FILE
Former US President Joe Biden is battling advanced prostate cancer that has spread to his bones and beyond, his son Hunter Biden has said.
In a recent interview with the Aljazeera, Hunter said the disease had metastasised into his father's bones and further, causing him significant pain.
"It's very painful, and it's very debilitating in many respects," he said.
Biden, 83, served as the 46th US president from January 2021 to January 2025.
He withdrew from the 2024 presidential race in July 2024, following mounting concerns about his age and fitness that intensified after his widely criticised performance in a televised debate against Donald Trump.
Biden had several pre-existing health conditions while in office and had previously been treated for a number of ailments, including basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
In February 2023, doctors removed a basal cell carcinoma lesion from his chest during a routine physical examination. It required no further treatment.
In 2021, a 3mm benign but potentially pre-cancerous colon polyp was identified during a routine colonoscopy and successfully removed.
It wasn't until May 2025 that Biden's aggressive prostate cancer was diagnosed, four months after he left the White House.
His office said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his bones and was hormone-sensitive, allowing for treatment and management.
The diagnosis came after doctors examined Biden following increasing urinary symptoms. His office said at the time that he and his family were reviewing treatment options with his physicians.
Despite the pain he is experiencing, Hunter said his father remains active and continues to engage in public life.
"I wish he could complain more because it's not good. The cancer has spread. It has metastasised into the bones and further," he said.
"He's still doing his thing. He so believes in this country," Hunter added.
Biden's official presidential medical summaries also documented several long-term conditions.
They included non-valvular atrial fibrillation, a chronic irregular heartbeat managed with the blood thinner apixaban; high cholesterol; gastroesophageal reflux; seasonal congestion; spinal arthritis; and peripheral neuropathy.
Doctors attributed his stiffened walking gait partly to spinal arthritis and neuropathy in his feet.
At the height of the 2024 presidential race, amid growing public scrutiny over his mental acuity, the White House said Biden had undergone neurological examinations as part of his annual physicals.
His doctors said there were no findings indicating Parkinson's disease, dementia or another degenerative neurological disorder while he was in office.
The concerns over his age and cognitive stamina nevertheless became a major issue during the 2024 campaign, culminating in his decision to withdraw from the race.
Biden's cancer diagnosis in 2025 also triggered questions over when the disease developed.
His office said he had not previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that his last known prostate-specific antigen test had been in 2014.
Some doctors questioned how advanced the cancer could have become without being detected, while others said a new diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer at Biden's age was possible.
