SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — On Sunday former President Joe Biden announced in a statement that he has been diagnosed with a “more aggressive” former of prostate cancer.
The former president said he was seen by a doctor last week “for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.”
Now, doctors are weighing in.
“But I think what was surprising was his grade of cancer. It was described as an aggressive cancer,” said Dr. Sandy Srinivas, who is a medical oncologist at Stanford.
“In this case, what caught my attention is that it has spread outside the prostate. So, that means it’s more advanced. It also means by definition that it is generally incurable,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, who is chief patient officer of the American Cancer Society.
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No one likes to hear the term “incurable,” but in Biden’s case both doctors we talked with — who are not associated with the former President’s team — agree that there are a number of treatment options.
“The good news is that most people, even in their 80s, tolerate standard of care prostate cancer therapy pretty well,” Kamal said.
Both Kamal and Srinivas say that with the former president’s more aggressive form of prostate cancer, pills or treatment that lower testosterone levels — or makes testosterone unavailable — are likely to be used here.
J.R. Stone: “So, even though it’s incurable, living another four or five years after a diagnosis like this wouldn’t necessarily be out of the ordinary?”
Dr. Sandy Srinivas: “That’s correct.”
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“If it spreads and stays in the bones, generally doesn’t cause a ton of trouble — now, it can. But, the good news is that, unlike some other cancers that tend to go to some organs of the body — they’re a lot more critical — what we can do is give medications to strengthen the bones,” Kamal said.
Kamal said the American Cancer Society recommends yearly PSA blood tests for most men starting at 50, and some starting at 45. Srinivas said there has been some controversy over those tests not being able to pick up prostate cancer in early stages.
“So, in this last decade, we do see a lot of patients like President Biden, where at their first presentation, they have the disease that’s already left the prostate, and have spread elsewhere,” Srinivas said.
Former President Biden and his family are currently reviewing treatment options.
Here is the full statement issued by the Personal Office of Former President Joe Biden:
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone. While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
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