President Biden has been diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Sparkchaser · 2025-05-18T21:31:26+00:00

This is not political Former president Biden has been diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer. Given his age and diagnosis, this would seem a death sentence. 🙁 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwywqg7lq1zo

InternetJeff

Biden’s last PSA test was in 2014 according to his office.

Former President Joe Biden’s “last known” prostate cancer screening was in 2014, and he had never been diagnosed with the disease before last week, his office said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-psa-2014-prostate-cancer-a052da2bb3b464bec670db97689e3688

This is a quote of the former President’s office relating to facts regarding his health and not political in any way.

InternetJeff

px_eliezer_ Men who are 70 and older should not be screened for prostate cancer routinely.

I wonder what “routinely” means. Two years, five years, eight years? As a medical professional, what’s your opinion?

Politics aside, I wish he had gotten tested at least 5 years ago. It could have made a world of difference in his detection, treatment, and outcome. The PSA test such a simple and cheap test, that can be taken along with your other annual blood work.

My father was a prostate cancer survivor, they caught it at very early stage at 73 via an elevated PSA. At first they did active surveillance for a couple of years, and then he had treatment. He was cancer free until he passed at 98. When the new testing recommedations came out I asked him what he thought, and he said “screw their recommendations!”

px_eliezer_

InternetJeff

I agree with your father, and with your whole post.

Of course, I’m somewhat of a heretic and a curmudgeon on many of these issues.

Sounds like your dad was a curmudgeon too. 😃

A LOT of these guidelines and recommendations are at least somewhat controversial.

If Prostate Cancer screening is the big debate for men, then Mammograms are the big debate for women:

Why isn’t there agreement on when women need to start getting mammograms?
https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/02/breast-cancer-screening-mammogram-women-40s/

Given the Controversy About When and How Often to Get Mammograms, How Do I Decide?
https://www.iowaradiology.com/given-the-controversy-about-when-and-how-often-to-get-mammograms-how-do-i-decide/

Similar controversy about Pap Smear (cervical cancer) screening in older women.

BUT—The PSA blood test for a man, is a lot easier than a Mammogram for a woman, and especially easier than a Pap smear.

Back to the PROSTATE debate, this is a good review of what is a complex issue.
Prostate cancer screening: Continued controversies and novel biomarker advancements (2022)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9875204/

Astyanax

px_eliezer_ In 2018, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) made the following recommendations about prostate cancer screening….
Men who are 70 and older should not be screened for prostate cancer routinely.

Let’s forget the PSA testing. Cancer had already metastasized to his bones. Shouldn’t the cancer in his bones have been detected during his routine checkups?

px_eliezer_

Astyanax

Not necessarily.

If he wasn’t having bone pain (etc) there would be no reason to even do any imaging studies.

As well—there are so many different types of blood tests, so many imaging studies, so many different types of cancers, you might not match things up unless specifically looking.

Astyanax

Dks01

Dks01 The norm is that personal health information is normally withheld from the public due to privacy laws. You are in full control of your health information, always. It does not matter if you are the President of the United States or not.

Speaking of which here’s the current POTUS’s annual physical report that he had last month:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/13/us/1.html

PSA: 0.10ng/mL (Normal:<4.0ng/mL)

I didn’t know he had an appendectomy when he was 11.

Dks01

Astyanax TMI.

Astyanax

Dks01 Better than “TLI” (e.g. Joe).

px_eliezer_

Astyanax Better than “TLI” (e.g. Joe).

On that I agree.

px_eliezer_

MAYBE this will save someone an unnecessary biopsy:

Do NOT have sexual activity (with partner or alone) for a few days (at least 48 hours) prior to PSA blood test, otherwise it may be falsely elevated.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/24615-psa-test

In other words, this has been a PSA PSA.

GrumpyCanadian

px_eliezer_ I wasn’t aware that it is a specifically Canadian term, but it was specific enough that anyone who didn’t recognise it could look it up and know what I meant. The term used here before the legislation was passed was “doctor-assisted suicide”, but that last word would be entirely unpalatable to most Catholics.

I actually applaud Quebec’s stance on the matter (for once!), which is still ahead of the rest of the country in some respects, and still very controversial. However, with a new federal government in office, lead by another practising Catholic, we’ll see if they have a new official pronouncement on the matter.

Astyanax

px_eliezer_

Do NOT have sexual activity (with partner or alone)
…
otherwise it may be falsely elevated

Priceless!

GrumpyCanadian

Sparkchaser My understanding was that they were rating the severity/aggressiveness/progression as 9 out of 10. I am not aware of there being anything more than Stage 4, which is fairly close to end-stage, if I’m not mistaken; no chance for a “cure”, just keeping the progression under control as much as possible, and keeping him comfortable in the time he has left. A few specialists have said that could be years yet.

As concerned and curious as we may be, I’m sure they will release additional information if he wants it to be known. We should all respect his privacy, especially in what must be a difficult time for his family.

HFB1217

Today on CNN10:

We learn about the cancer diagnosis for former President Joe Biden and how he spent much of his political career battling the disease.

px_eliezer_

Astyanax PSA: 0.10ng/mL (Normal:<4.0ng/mL)

I was also going to mention (another PSA PSA) as a point of general information, that the TREND is important as well.

For example, if the PSA number doubles or triples in a year, EVEN IF still low on an absolute basis, that bears attention.
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/track-your-psa-test-scores.h18-1589046.html

Sparkchaser

GrumpyCanadian My understanding was that they were rating the severity/aggressiveness/progression as 9 out of 10. I am not aware of there being anything more than Stage 4, which is fairly close to end-stage,

Yes, I knew that. I just didn’t want to say who gave out the info. 😉

Dks01

GrumpyCanadian The PM made it clear, when asked in Rome this week while attending Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass, that his faith is personal and will have no impact on government policy decisions. Given that MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) is the law in Canada, Mr. Carney would have nothing to say on the matter unless legislation were to be introduced in the House of Commons. Even then, if his government introduced legislation, he would break with his party. That’s not good optics for the party leader. Same with any proposed abortion legislation (for our US friends, there is no law against abortion in Canada; it is a medical matter between doctor and patient).

Astyanax

px_eliezer_ Not necessarily.

If he wasn’t having bone pain (etc) there would be no reason to even do any imaging studies.

He was said to have spinal arthritis and periphery neuropathy which is why he walked funny. Could that really have been the metastasis in the bone at work instead?

telcodad

px_eliezer_ Do NOT have sexual activity (with partner or alone) for a few days (at least 48 hours) prior to PSA blood test, otherwise it may be falsely elevated.

It also says this:

Don’t exercise 48 hours before your PSA test. Vigorous exercise — especially bicycling — can temporarily raise your PSA levels.

Just to be safe, I’ll be cutting out all vigorous exercise now. 😉

px_eliezer_

Astyanax periphery neuropathy

Yes that might have been from bone cancer, many other causes also of course.

It’s VERY common in the elderly even without other factors such as diabetes or vitamin deficiency.

So all just speculation….

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