BBC News, Washington, DC
Joe Biden thanked the former U.S. president for expressing his gratitude to the words of support around the world after announcing his cancer diagnosis on Sunday.
"Cancer has moved us all," Biden wrote on social media Monday morning. "Like many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are the strongest in the broken place. Thank you for your love and support."
Biden's office revealed on Sunday that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to the bone.
The news came as he raised new questions about the health of the former president during his tenure.
"He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (grade 5), with bone metastasis," Biden's office said in a statement.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive and can be managed effectively.”
According to Cancer Research UK, Gleason scored nine, meaning his disease is classified as "advanced" and cancer cells may spread rapidly.
Questions have been raised about how long he might have had this cancer and how the disease affected him while he was still in office.
Biden said his diagnosis was conducted Friday after he reported symptoms of urine, which led doctors to find a small nodule on the prostate.
Many people have provided Biden support after the cancer diagnosis, including President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Buckingham Palace said King Charles provided Biden with private writing.
The 76-year-old King has met Biden many times, and he has also been treated for an unspecified type of cancer after his diagnosis in 2024.
Biden then sent a good wish, saying, "I'm worried about him. I heard about his diagnosis. God will, I will talk to him."
Vice Chairman JD Vance provided good wishes but questioned whether the American people had a clear understanding of Biden's health when they served as the former president.
“We do need to be honest with the former president’s ability to do this,” Vance said Monday. “That’s… you can separate his desire to have the right health outcomes and recognize that whether it’s a doctor or a staff member around the former president, I don’t think he can do a good job for the American people.”
Vance also said he blamed the people around him on Byton himself.
He added: “This is not how kids play, we can pray for physical health, but also realize that if you are not physically fit enough to do the job, then you shouldn’t do the job.”
The news comes as Biden announced an upcoming book that claims he and his advisers were hiding his health while in the White House.
Details revealed last week from books titled Original Sin: The Fall of President Biden, The Coverage and His Disastrous Choice of Run Again, including Biden’s Disagreement of Actors and frequent democratic donor George Clooney during his fundraising campaign last year, and aides discussing putting the former president in a wheelchair.
The book will be released on Tuesday.
About a year ago, the former president was forced to withdraw from the 2024 U.S. presidential election due to concerns about his health and age.