Former President Joe Biden, 83, says his radiation therapy for aggressive Stage 4 prostate cancer "worked as intended", but a former White House physician warns the prognosis remains grim.

Biden posted a lengthy message on social media Tuesday marking Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, offering what he called a "personal" update on his health and pressing American men not to delay conversations with their doctors about screening. The post included a photo of Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, shared on X from his @JoeBiden account.

His office first announced the diagnosis in May 2025, revealing that an aggressive form of prostate cancer had already metastasized to his bones by the time doctors found it. The cancer carried a Gleason score of 9, Grade Group 5, among the most severe classifications, though his team said at the time that it was hormone-sensitive, allowing for management.

Biden completed a course of radiation therapy last October, the New York Post reported. In his social media post, he said the treatment achieved its goal and that he continues daily activities, including work on his memoir.

Biden's own words frame the update, but key medical questions remain unanswered

Fox News Digital reported that Biden thanked the medical professionals who treated him, praising their "skill, dedication, and compassion." He urged men at average risk to begin discussing prostate cancer screening with their doctors around age 50, and said Black men and those with a family history should start those conversations earlier.

Those recommendations track with guidelines from the American Cancer Society, which sets the discussion threshold at 50 for average-risk men, 45 for Black men and men with certain family histories, and 40 for those at even higher risk.

Biden wrote in his post:

"Talk to your doctors. Ask the hard questions. Do it for yourself, and do it for the people who love you."

He also expressed hope that going public with his experience could encourage others to seek care. During Biden's presidency, questions about his health and cognitive fitness became a persistent point of public concern, questions his administration never fully put to rest.

"It's my hope and prayer that by sharing our experience and being part of this important conversation, we can help save lives. And no matter what, keep the faith. God bless you."

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office for additional comment on his current health, treatment status, and prognosis. No response was reported.

Hunter Biden described his father's condition as 'very painful' and 'very debilitating'

Biden's public optimism stands in contrast to what his own family has said about his condition. Hunter Biden described the former president's cancer as having "spread, metastasized into his bones and further," calling it "very painful" and "very debilitating in many respects," Breitbart reported.

Biden himself acknowledged the severity of his diagnosis in his post. "By the time we found it, it had already spread to my bones," he wrote. Doctors had initially discovered a prostate nodule after Biden reported increasing urinary symptoms, though the precise timeline of when those symptoms began has not been made public.

Jill Biden, in a separate interview referenced by Fox News Digital, said the former president has slowed down and acknowledged his exhaustion. The broader Biden family's transparency on the matter has been limited and, at times, contradictory, a pattern that defined the final years of his presidency, when court-ordered disclosures repeatedly revealed information the White House had sought to keep from public view.

An AP News report confirmed that Biden's treatment plan included both radiation therapy and hormone treatment. Biden aide Kelly Scully stated that "as part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment." The AP noted Biden was 82 when he left office in January after dropping his reelection bid six months earlier amid concerns about his age, health, and mental fitness.

Former White House physician estimates Biden may have 12 to 18 months to live

Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as White House physician under both Presidents Obama and Trump, offered a far less reassuring assessment. Jackson told the Washington Free Beacon that after consulting with urologists, he estimated Biden may have only 12 to 18 months to live.

Jackson also raised pointed questions about how long Biden's medical team knew about his condition before the public announcement. He noted that Biden's prostate issues were documented as far back as December 2019, when the then-candidate was treated for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate. Jackson accused Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, of either lying to the American people or being incompetent.

That accusation fits a broader pattern. Throughout Biden's presidency, his administration resisted disclosure on multiple fronts, from health records to ghostwriter interview recordings that Biden fought to keep sealed, losing twice in federal court.

The gap between Biden's upbeat social media post and the medical reality described by Jackson and Hunter Biden raises a familiar question: how much of what the public hears from the Biden orbit reflects the full picture, and how much is managed narrative?

Biden's cancer had a Gleason score of 9, on a scale where 10 is the most aggressive. It had already metastasized to his bones before doctors caught it. His own son described it as debilitating. Yet Biden's post focused on his memoir, his faith, and his hope for others. Those are admirable sentiments. They are not a substitute for a full, transparent accounting of a former president's health.

Screening advocacy is welcome, candor about his own condition would be better

No one begrudges an 83-year-old man encouragement in a difficult fight. Biden's call for men to talk to their doctors about prostate cancer screening is straightforward public health advice, consistent with American Cancer Society guidelines. Prostate cancer caught early is far more treatable than the Stage 4 diagnosis Biden received.

But the Biden family's track record on transparency makes it difficult to take any public health update at face value. This is the same circle that insisted for years that Biden was sharp, vigorous, and fully capable of a second term, right up until the moment he withdrew from the race. The administration that diverted whistleblower complaints and fought document releases in court does not get the benefit of the doubt on selective disclosure.

Several basic questions remain unanswered. What does "worked as intended" mean in clinical terms, is the cancer in remission, stable, or merely slowed? Is Biden still receiving hormone therapy or any other ongoing treatment? What is his current prognosis? Fox News Digital asked Biden's office these questions. No answers were reported.

The public learned during Biden's presidency that his team's instinct was to manage perceptions rather than share facts. His administration's failures, from losing track of migrant children to concealing the president's cognitive decline, were revealed not by voluntary candor but by outside pressure, court orders, and the work of investigators who refused to accept official assurances.

Biden deserves dignity in his illness. Every American facing cancer does. But dignity and accountability are not in conflict, and the people who spent years telling the country not to believe their own eyes have earned every skeptical question they get now.