Former President Joe Biden has started radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told CNN.
“As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said.
The news was first reported by NBC News. A spokesperson for the former president, who turns 83 next month, did not give a timeline for the treatment.
Biden’s personal office revealed in May that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
“The expectation is we’re going to be able to beat this,” Biden told CNN in his first comments about the diagnosis two weeks after he received it. “It’s not in any organ, it’s in – my bones are strong, it hadn’t penetrated. So, I’m feeling good.”
He added that he started a pill regimen to treat the cancer.
Last month, Biden had Mohs surgery, an operation used to remove skin cancer lesions. In that procedure, thin layers of skin are removed and examined under a microscope until the doctor sees no signs of skin cancer cells. It’s typically used to treat cancerous lesions that have returned after previous treatment, are fast-growing, or are in important areas like the face, hands or genitals.
In 2023 while president, Biden had a lesion removed from his chest, which later tested positive for basal cell carcinoma. At the time, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as Biden’s physician in the White House, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” and Biden would continue “dermatological surveillance.”
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer. It’s slow-growing and usually curable.
