Questions have emerged following former President Joe Biden’s recent announcement that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
Leading oncologist Dr. Zeke Emanuel, who previously served on Biden’s COVID advisory board, suggested Monday that the cancer was likely present when Biden took office in 2021, sparking renewed scrutiny about the timing and progression of the diagnosis.
Emanuel appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he explained that Biden “probably had it at the start of his presidency, in 2021.”
“Yes, I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that,” he said, adding that Biden “did not develop [prostate cancer] in the last 100, 200 days,” indicating the disease had been developing for several years.
Biden’s cancer diagnosis was made public last week, revealing the disease had metastasized to his bones.
His family is now weighing treatment options following reports that a “small nodule” had previously been detected on his prostate and required further evaluation.
The doctor expressed surprise that such an advanced cancer had not been identified earlier.
“He’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading,” Emanuel stated. “That’s right. It’s a little surprising.”
Regarding routine health screenings, Emanuel noted a lack of evidence showing Biden had undergone a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in recent years.
While PSA tests are often not recommended for men over 70, he said, “President Biden’s been in public life a very long time… So it’s a little surprising that they didn’t do it.”
He also considered the possibility that Biden himself may have declined the test.
“Many men do decide they don’t want [it], but this is also aggressive,” he remarked.
Emanuel detailed the severity of Biden’s cancer by citing his Gleason score of nine, a measurement used to grade prostate cancer aggressiveness.
“That score is from two up to ten. And he’s a nine,” Emanuel explained. “That means that the cancer doesn’t look normal, it looks very abnormal — which is probably why it’s in the bone.”
Scarborough pressed Emanuel on how long Biden’s cancer might have been present.
“We don’t know, obviously,” Emanuel said. “And it is a little surprising to many of us oncologists that he wasn’t diagnosed earlier.”
The oncologist also addressed the transparency of medical disclosures.
“If he took it and didn’t report it and it was elevated, that is another case of doctors not being straightforward with us,” Emanuel said. “We’ve had several of them with President Trump, especially around his COVID diagnosis. And if that is true, that would be very troubling.”
Prostate cancer typically progresses slowly and is often detected early through PSA testing, the Daily Mail reports. Aside from elevated PSA levels, symptoms can include urinary issues and bone pain.
Reports indicate Biden experienced increasing urinary symptoms prior to the diagnosis, which became public days after his appearance on “The View.”
Routine physical exams are common for presidents and Biden was declared “fit to serve” as recently as February 2024.
If he had a PSA test then, the rapid progression to late-stage metastatic cancer within roughly 15 months would be unusual.
