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Ongoing story / Joe Biden

Joe Biden's prostate cancer, from the diagnosis to its spread

Overview · reviewed November 14, 2026

In May 2025, four months after leaving office, former President Joe Biden, 82, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.[1][2] He completed radiation and hormone treatment that October, and in September 2026 he said the radiation had "worked as intended," weeks after his son Hunter Biden said the cancer had spread into his bones and further, leaving him in severe pain.[3][4][5]

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He completed radiation and hormone treatment that October, and in September 2026 he said the radiation had "worked as intended," weeks after his son Hunter Biden said the cancer had spread into his bones and further, leaving him in severe pain.[3][4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-05-12 (UTC): 25%, 50 of 202 tracked outlets (15 left, 19 center, 16 right)Week of 2025-05-19 (UTC): 50%, 98 of 197 tracked outlets (27 left, 38 center, 33 right)Week of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): 18%, 32 of 181 tracked outlets (8 left, 17 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): 11%, 22 of 194 tracked outlets (5 left, 13 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 9%, 48 of 537 tracked outlets (9 left, 25 center, 14 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): 2%, 11 of 545 tracked outlets (2 left, 3 center, 6 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 1%, 6 of 480 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 471 tracked outlets (0 left, 0 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): 9%, 45 of 474 tracked outlets (10 left, 27 center, 8 right), so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 8 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (9 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 9, 2026 (so far)1027845 of 4749%
Nov 2, 20260022 of 471under 1%
Sep 7, 20261326 of 4801%
Aug 10, 202623611 of 5452%
Aug 3, 20269251448 of 5379%
Oct 20, 2025513422 of 19411%
Oct 6, 2025817732 of 18118%
May 19, 202527383398 of 19750%
May 12, 202515191650 of 20225%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 10, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    Biden says he wouldn't have run for a 2nd term in 2024 if he knew he had cancer

Background

Biden's office announced the diagnosis on May 18, after he sought medical attention for worsening urinary symptoms and doctors found a nodule.[1][2] A spokesperson said his last known prostate cancer screening had been in 2014.[6] Vice President JD Vance said the news showed Biden had not been healthy enough to serve, criticizing aides for keeping his health private.[7] Biden thanked supporters,[8] and days later attended his grandson's high school graduation.[9] His age and fitness had been at the center of his withdrawal from the 2024 race.

In October Biden underwent radiation therapy and hormone treatment,[10] finishing the radiation at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.[3] In August 2026 Hunter Biden said in an interview that the cancer had spread,[5] and in September Biden marked Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by saying the treatment had worked as intended.[4] In November, Biden said he was scaling back the tour for his memoir because the cancer was slowing him down,[11] and he told People magazine that he had not known he had cancer while he was president and would not have sought a second term if he had been diagnosed.[12]

Supporting stories (12)
  1. Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer
  2. Former President Biden's cancer diagnosis: What does a Gleason score of 9 mean?
  3. Biden completes round of radiation therapy for aggressive form of prostate cancer
  4. Joe Biden Cancer Update as Former President Pushes for Early Detection
  5. Hunter Biden announces his father’s prostate cancer has spread to his bones
  6. Biden's last screening for prostate cancer was in 2014, spokesperson says
  7. Biden's cancer diagnosis prompts new questions about his health while in office
  8. Joe Biden Posts Message After Cancer Diagnosis: “Jill And I Have Learned That We Are The Strongest In Broken Places”
  9. Former President Joe Biden makes first public appearance since cancer diagnosis
  10. Biden receiving radiation, hormone therapy to treat prostate cancer
  11. Joe Biden to scale back book tour as cancer ‘slows me down’
  12. Biden says he wouldn't have run for a second term in 2024 if he knew he had cancer

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 12 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Biden says he wouldn't have run for a second term in 2024 if he knew he had cancerHeadline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 29 outlets
  2. Joe Biden to scale back book tour as cancer ‘slows me down’Headline from NBC News · 29 outlets

September 2026

  1. Joe Biden Cancer Update as Former President Pushes for Early DetectionHeadline from Newsweek · 6 outlets

August 2026

  1. Hunter Biden announces his father’s prostate cancer has spread to his bonesHeadline from WHDH Boston · 56 outlets

October 2025

  1. Biden completes round of radiation therapy for aggressive form of prostate cancerHeadline from Fox5 Atlanta · 23 outlets
  2. Biden receiving radiation, hormone therapy to treat prostate cancerHeadline from The Columbian · 36 outlets

May 2025

  1. Former President Joe Biden makes first public appearance since cancer diagnosisHeadline from NBC Chicago · 5 outlets
  2. Biden's cancer diagnosis prompts new questions about his health while in officeHeadline from The Jamestown Sun · 16 outlets
  3. Joe Biden Posts Message After Cancer Diagnosis: “Jill And I Have Learned That We Are The Strongest In Broken Places”Headline from Deadline · 8 outlets
  4. Former President Biden's cancer diagnosis: What does a Gleason score of 9 mean?Headline from ABC 13 Houston · 6 outlets
  5. Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancerHeadline from WISH-TV Indianapolis · 49 outlets
  6. Biden's last screening for prostate cancer was in 2014, spokesperson saysHeadline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 98 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →