Former US President Biden's cancer has spread
Health & Science
By
AFP
| Aug 09, 2026
Former US President Joe Biden during a conference of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled at the Sofitel Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, on April 15, 2025. [AFP]
Former US president Joe Biden's cancer has metastasized further, according to his son Hunter Biden, who shared the update in a recent interview with the BBC.
In May 2025, just four months after he left office as the oldest sitting president, the elder Biden revealed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
He subsequently began treatment, including radiation and hormone therapy, which the 83-year-old described as going "really well" last month, during an announcement of his upcoming memoir.
In a wide-ranging interview published late Friday with BBC Newsnight, Hunter Biden said his father's disease has spread despite the treatment.
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"The cancer has spread, is metastasized into his bones and further," Biden said.
"It's very painful, and it's very debilitating in many respects, but he's still out there. He's still doing his thing...he so believes in this country."
Hunter Biden appeared to get emotional at times during the interview while discussing his father's health.
"It's really, really hard, and it's really sad to watch," he added.
Despite persistent questions about his health as the oldest-ever US president, Biden, then aged 81, decided to run for a second term in 2024.
Following a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in June 2024 and a wave of pressure from Democrats, Biden withdrew from the presidential race.
Trump went on to beat Biden's replacement candidate -- then-vice president Kamala Harris.