I have a question on President Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis

[Norbert]

Last edited Sun May 25, 2025, 07:45 AM - Edit history (1)

I keep hearing the media say that he has not been checked for prostate cancer in 12 years. Do they mean he hasn't had a PSA?

I am thinking and I may be wrong but if he has had bloodwork done then there is a check for it through bloodwork. I have read where it is more accurate for men as they reach a certain age because PSA checks deliver too many false positives.

I, too, have not been checked for prostate cancer with a PSA test for three years. Instead, I get a physical every six months and that means a prostate cancer check through bloodwork.

There is a history of prostate cancer in my family so this hits close to home. I want to be checked because I feel I have a target on my back, or rather below the belt.

Any thoughts?

On edit: The bloodwork test is a PSA test. The test I haven't had in three years is the finger test.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. There was a school of thought after the Swedish study was published

that watchful waiting was as good on average longevity as was all the surgery. It was considered that leaving it contained rather than spreading it was sound policy. That's what i remember reading. Most all men if they live long enough have some nascent prostate cancer.

Of course today there are alternatives to actual surgery, roto-rooter or removal. Cryogenic, heat therapy, radioactive beads ...

I'm not sure I believe what the media is reporting. Is it designed to make Biden appear to have made poor choices? If they did report something that was rumor or not true, would he want to open his medical records to disprove the lies?

[sop]

2. A PSA check from a routine blood draw will be performed by the lab only if the doctor specifically orders it.

[Callie1979]

3. What test are you getting in your bloodwork if its not a PSA?

I haven't heard of a different check
Here's my thoughts on all this. And likely not a popular view here.
I've had my PSA checked with my yearly physical ever since I was 48. I dont know anyone who doesnt get the finger & the PSA.
While it is certainly possible that Biden never had ANY symptoms I'm just not buying it. As I said, it CAN happen but its not the norm and I would expect the President to get a more complete checkup than most of US would. PSA requires nothing more than another box checked on the lab request. Everything SHOULD have been checked for. then leader of the free world. (today I'd require a filmed cognitive test)
But I also got yelled at a lot when I openly called for Biden NOT to run again. He had said himself in 2020 that he'd likely be a "transitional" president & he shouldve stuck with that. We could've had an actual primary & time for a real campaign.

[Norbert]

6. I'm sorry, I might have misspoke

It seems bloodwork is a PSA test, it is just different than the finger test that I would have done until recently.

[SARose]

4. My husband is 81

and has not had a PSA test since he was 70. This is standard practice. Men over 70 have more false positives than younger men. My husband’s urologist explained that the PSA test is focused on middle aged men and screens for aggressive prostate cancer.

My husband has no family history of prostate cancer and has never had a positive result. He still gets a physical exam every year, though. 😉

The same is true with a colonoscopy. A routine colonoscopy is not recommended for folks 75 and older. Colon cancer also is slow growing - usually.

Most folks will not live long enough for the cancer to fully manifest itself. Just another right wing conspiracy.

[LisaL]

10. Same with Biden.

His last test was in 2014, which would be around the time he turned 70.

[Jarqui]

5. 10 years ago Biden was diagnosed with benign prostate hyperplasia

It does not lead to cancer but it presents a lot of similar symptoms to prostate cancer.
There are treatment options but it can be a chronic condition.
That probably had something to do with the delay in diagnosis.
They could chalk up his prostate cancer symptoms to benign prostate hyperplasia ...

Another key thing: the cancer he has is very aggressive - came on very quickly.
So a routine checkup with a PSA test months ago ago probably would not have picked it up.

There seems to be a hunk of rotten luck involved.

[Tickle]

7. As a liberal who values transparency

and accountability in leadership, it’s deeply concerning to consider the possibility that the White House may have known about President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis and chose to withhold that information from the public. While it's understandable that private health matters deserve a degree of confidentiality, the health of the sitting president is not just a personal issue — it has direct implications for national stability, foreign policy, and public trust. If the administration was aware of a diagnosis and failed to disclose it, that choice reflects a calculated political decision that prioritizes optics over openness.

[karynnj]

11. I seriously doubt those closest to him, especially Jill Biden would ignore

a cancer diagnosis. To me, it seems that it really was the doctor's visit where the lump was found that ultimately led to the diagnosis. A man leading the "moonshot" against cancer would not "hide" a diagnosis and do nothing.

Imagine the lump was discovered in 2023, they likely would have started the same investigation they did recently to determine the aggressiveness of the cancer and to what degree it had spread. Given what we now know, they would have found it was aggressive. There is no way they would just ignore it for 2 years. Not to mention, in this extremely unlikely scenario, he would have announced it as a reason for stepping out of the race. Meaning getting treatment nearly a year earlier. From things read, many take a "wait and see" approach with prostate cancer, but I assume that is after determining that it is not aggressive.

That said, I am surprised that PSA tests weren't done As others noted, it requires the doctor to just check another box and a small additional amount of blood is drawn.

[k_buddy762]

12. This

Its not possible (IMHO) that the most powerful man in the entire world would not have a *complete* health screen every single year, testing virtually any blood marker that modern medicine can test.

[hlthe2b]

8. Please read my prior comments on this that provide background and information.:

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20327449

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines advising against PSA testing for men aged 70 and older were revised in May 2018. Prior to that, the USPSTF had previously recommended against PSA testing for all men. The 2018 update specifically addressed men in the 55-69 age range, allowing for individual decision-making with their doctor after discussing the potential benefits and harms of the test, while continuing to discourage PSA testing for those 70 and older.

I am not a urologist, but I do understand the issues with this highly sensitive, but poorly specific test. What that means is that men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a very common non-cancer enlargement that comes with age can also trigger an increase in PSA, so a digital exam is recommended. That said, the USPSTF also looked at the risk-benefits of aggressive treatment, whether surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy in men over the age of 70 with likely concomitant medical risk factors (e.g., heart disease, hypertension, etc.) and determined that the treatments and diagnostics from false positive PSA readings or even indicated treatments might pose more risk than benefit in this older age group. That is the thinking (along with some unnecessary cost issues, because MRI is the indicated test to sort it out at considerable expense).

Does any of the above really apply to a current or recent President whose medical care is basically unlimited? Probably not, but there are issues that Biden's physicians would have taken into account--whatever they might be.

and a follow-up:
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20327600

[LisaL]

9. Biden's last PSA test was in 2014.

Would be around the time Biden turned 70. Current advice is stop PSA tests after 70, and looks like his doctors followed that advice. And that resulted in the outcome Biden has today. When his cancer was discovered it already spread.