Former President Joe Biden, 83, shared a health update Tuesday marking Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, announcing that radiation therapy he underwent last fall for his Stage 4 prostate cancer "worked as intended" and that he continues to pursue the things that matter to him — while urging American men not to delay conversations with their doctors about screening.
Biden was diagnosed in May 2025 with an aggressive form of prostate cancer — Gleason score 9, Grade Group 5 — that had metastasized to his bones. His office emphasized at the time that the cancer was hormone-sensitive, meaning it could be managed through hormone therapy combined with radiation. Biden completed that course of treatment last fall. In his Tuesday social media update, he thanked the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who treated him and used most of the message to deliver a practical public health call to action. Biden noted that men at average risk should begin discussing prostate cancer screening with their doctors around age 50, while Black men and those with a family history of the disease should have those conversations earlier — around age 45. Men at even higher risk should begin at age 40. The messaging is consistent with American Cancer Society guidelines. Jill Biden has separately said the former president will live with cancer "for the rest of his life" and has acknowledged that he has slowed down from the pace he maintained during his time in office.
"Talk to your doctors. Ask the hard questions. Do it for yourself, and do it for the people who love you. It's my hope and prayer that by sharing our experience and being part of this important conversation, we can help save lives." — Joe Biden, social media post Tuesday
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men and the second leading cause of cancer death. The American Cancer Society estimates roughly 288,000 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2026. The critical distinction in outcomes is timing: prostate cancer detected before it has spread beyond the prostate has a five-year relative survival rate of nearly 100%. Prostate cancer detected after it has spread to distant parts of the body — as Biden's had — carries a five-year survival rate of approximately 34%. The gap between those numbers is the case for screening Biden is making, and it is a compelling one regardless of any political disagreements one may have with the man making it.
Biden's public disclosure of his diagnosis and treatment has drawn attention to a disease that kills more than 35,000 American men annually and that many men are reluctant to discuss or screen for. The PSA blood test, which can detect elevated prostate-specific antigen levels that may indicate cancer, remains the primary screening tool and has been the subject of ongoing medical debate about its appropriate use — with guidance from various medical organizations ranging from encouraging routine screening to recommending an individualized conversation between patient and physician about the tradeoffs. Biden's framing — talk to your doctor — lands squarely in the middle of that debate in a way that is both medically sound and practically useful.
The American Cancer Society recommends that men at average risk of prostate cancer begin a conversation about screening at age 50. Black men and men with a first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 65 should have that conversation at age 45. Men with more than one first-degree relative with early prostate cancer should begin discussions at age 40. The PSA test can lead to false positives and unnecessary biopsies, which is why organizations recommend an individualized discussion rather than universal mandatory screening.
Whatever one thinks of Joe Biden's presidency or the controversies surrounding his decision not to disclose the severity of his cognitive decline during his term in office, his prostate cancer advocacy is worth hearing on its own terms. More than 35,000 American men will die of this disease this year. Early detection saves lives. The former president has the platform to make that case to men who might otherwise delay or avoid the conversation — and he is using it. That is worth acknowledging plainly and without political qualification.