What is Joe Biden's diagnosis?
Asked by: Christina Stroman Sr. | Last update: January 26, 2026Score: 4.1/5 (56 votes)
In May, Biden's postpresidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bone. The discovery came after he reported urinary symptoms. Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what is known as a Gleason score.
What is Joe Biden's stage 4 diagnosis?
Metastatic cancer, which Biden has, means that it has spread from where it started to another part of the body – in his case, from the prostate to the bone. It's also known as Stage 4 cancer. Somebody Biden's age wouldn't normally be screened for prostate cancer.
What is the survival rate for Joe Biden's cancer?
Johns Hopkins Medicine said on average the five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is nearly 100 percent after diagnosis but drops to 28 percent if the cancer has metastasised as it has done in Biden's case. It also notes that the 10-year and 15-year survival rates are 98 percent and 95 percent, respectively.
What diseases does Joe Biden have?
A biopsy confirmed prostate adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), indicating Stage IV cancer. Biden's office announced the diagnosis on May 18, 2025.
What is the life expectancy after prostate radiation?
Life expectancy after prostate radiation varies widely but is often over 10 years for many, depending heavily on the cancer's stage, your age, overall health, and the specific treatment approach (e.g., with or without androgen deprivation therapy). For low-risk cases, long-term survival is excellent, while high-risk patients may have 10-year cancer-specific survival rates around 74-89% when combined with surgery, highlighting that many men live long lives, often with overall survival comparable to the general male population, notes research from the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive' prostate cancer
Can a man live without his prostate?
Yes, you can live a healthy, long life without a prostate, as it's not a vital organ for survival, but removing it (prostatectomy) causes permanent infertility and often leads to significant, though usually manageable, side effects like erectile dysfunction (ED) and urinary incontinence. While many men adapt well, requiring lifestyle changes and treatments, the ability to have biological children is lost, and sexual function changes.
What is the life expectancy of a 75 year old man over?
Indeed, the life expectancy of a 75-year-old American or Canadian man now exceeds 85 years.
What is Joe Biden's prostate grade?
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Doctors have described it as having a Gleason score of 9, which is used to help understand how serious the cancer is.
What celebrities have had a glioblastoma?
Famous people who have had glioblastoma include Senator Edward Kennedy (survived 15 months after diagnosis),6 actress Ethel Merman (survived 10 months),7 Chairman of the Republican National Committee Lee Atwater (survived 12 months),8 and Major League Baseball relief pitcher Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw Jr (survived 9 ...
What does Joe Biden have a degree in?
Though a poor student, he was class president in his junior and senior years. He graduated in 1961. At the University of Delaware in Newark, Biden briefly played freshman football and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in history and political science in 1965.
What is 90% of cancer caused by?
About 90-95% of cancers are caused by lifestyle factors and environmental exposures, not genetics, with key preventable contributors including tobacco, poor diet, lack of exercise, alcohol, obesity, and sun exposure, while only 5-10% are due to inherited genetic defects. These external factors lead to genetic mutations over a person's lifetime, making lifestyle changes crucial for prevention.
What cancer treatments did Joe Biden have?
President Joe Biden has completed his course of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, which he recently marked by ringing the ceremonial bell alongside his radiation oncology care team. According to a report from People, President Biden's daughter Ashley Biden shared the moment on her Instagram profile.
What is the number one killing cancer in the United States?
Lung and bronchus cancer is responsible for the most deaths with 124,730 people expected to die from this disease. That is nearly three times the 52,900 deaths due to colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer death. Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest cancer, causing 51,980 deaths.
What's the longest anyone has lived with glioblastoma?
While specific records are hard to track, Carmen Rice is widely recognized as one of the longest-living GBM survivors, celebrating 20 years cancer-free in 2024 after being diagnosed with the aggressive brain cancer and given only months to live, though other rare case reports mention even longer, like a patient surviving 26 years post-treatment, highlighting the extreme rarity of long-term survival.
Does anyone recover from stage 4?
A stage 4 cancer diagnosis may sound like the end of life for most people, but it is neither the end game nor a life sentence. But there's still hope and healing possible. All of these stage 4 cancer survivor stories show that with the help of effective cancer treatments, it can improve the quality of life.
Has anyone ever recovered from glioblastoma?
Yes, some people do survive glioblastoma (GBM), even long-term, but it's rare, with most facing a median survival of only 15-18 months, though advancements in personalized medicine and clinical trials are improving outcomes for certain patients, with some living years or even decades longer. Long-term survivors often benefit from factors like being younger, female, or having specific tumor markers (like IDH mutations or MGMT methylation), along with aggressive surgical removal and combined treatments, but individual stories highlight hope beyond statistics.
Is COVID causing glioblastoma?
The IVW analysis revealed that the genetically determined COVID-19 hospitalized patients were at higher risk of developing GBM than the general population (OR = 1.202, 95% CI = 1.035–1.395, p = 0.016) ( Figure 2 ). According to the MR-Egger intercept, there was no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy (p=0.918).
What singer died of glioblastoma?
Death of Singer Tom Parker Highlights the Danger of Glioblastoma. The death of Tom Parker, a member of the British boy band, The Wanted, was announced yesterday, less than two years after he revealed his diagnosis of an inoperable, stage four glioblastoma.
How long did Ted Kennedy live after being diagnosed with glioblastoma?
Ted Kennedy lived for about 15 months after his May 2008 glioblastoma diagnosis, passing away in August 2009, which was roughly the median survival time for this aggressive brain cancer, thanks to aggressive treatment including surgery, chemotherapy (Temozolomide), and radiation.
Who is most likely to get glioblastoma?
Age: glioblastoma is most common in people aged 45 to 70. The average age at diagnosis is 64, though it can occur at any age. Gender: men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB) have a slightly higher risk than women.
What is the average life expectancy of someone with glioblastoma?
Glioblastoma life expectancy is generally short, with a median survival of around 12 to 18 months, but this varies significantly by individual; while only about 5% of patients live over five years, some may survive longer, especially children, and factors like age, tumor genetics (e.g., MGMT methylation), and treatment response greatly influence prognosis, with survival typically less than six months without treatment.
Why is glioblastoma so fatal?
“There is the solid part and there is the infiltrating part that co-exists with normal, functioning brain tissue. There is no safe way to remove all of that infiltrating part of the disease while keeping the brain function intact.”
What are the odds of living to 85?
The odds of living to 85 vary significantly by current age, sex, and health, but generally, for someone already middle-aged, it's quite common, with nearly 40% of all newborns surviving to 85, while a 65-year-old man has about a 50/50 chance of reaching 85, and a woman of the same age has even better odds. Factors like being a non-smoker, good health, and higher education improve these chances, with some estimates suggesting a 65-year-old healthy, non-smoking woman has a 25% chance of living to 91.
What is the biggest indicator of long life?
The biggest predictors of longevity are multifaceted but center on physical function and daily movement, outranking even chronic diseases, alongside strong social connections, good nutrition, and not smoking. Key indicators include cardiovascular fitness (VO2 max), muscle mass, strength, and the ability to perform daily activities, emphasizing consistent, moderate activity over sporadic intense exercise. Social integration and strong relationships are also crucial for mental and physical well-being, significantly impacting lifespan.
What is the average age of a male before he dies?
The average age of death for men varies globally, but in the U.S., life expectancy for males at birth was 75.8 years in 2023, an increase from previous years, though still lower than for females. Globally, life expectancy for men ranges from around 70.8 (Central African Republic) to over 84 (Monaco, Hong Kong) years, with many developed nations showing much higher averages than the U.S.