I have the same cancer as Biden -- what you need to understand

[struggle4progress]

by Jeff P. Crim, opinion contributor
05/23/25 9:00 AM ET

I am a prostate cancer patient and a board-certified health care chaplain. I’ve served patients from every end of the spectrum. And I’m living with hormone-sensitive, high-grade (Gleason 9) prostate cancer, just like former President Biden.

Lots of political commentators have speculated about the timeline and severity of Biden’s recent diagnosis. If you don’t believe he only just found out, or if you’re wondering whether the short timeframe described in the White House’s public statement could really be accurate, I understand your skepticism. But I also understand this disease. And based on what I have lived and what I have seen in hundreds of patients, I want to explain why the official timeline is entirely plausible.

My cancer was found by mistake. A non-routine blood test was ordered in error, and that’s what flagged the concern. Just days before, I had undergone a prostate exam that came back completely normal. After my diagnosis, I consented to a follow-up evaluation by three different urologists to see if a more expert or aggressive technique would have caught it earlier. Only one thought he maybe felt something unusual. Maybe.

In other words, this is a cancer that hides well — even from the well-trained ...

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5312348-prostate-cancer-diagnosis-joe-biden/

[struggle4progress]

1. Sudden diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer all too common

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
Updated 5:42 PM EDT, May 19, 2025

... “It’s a very common scenario,” said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center. Men can “feel completely well and a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer could come as quite a surprise.”

Guidelines recommend against prostate cancer screening for men 70 and older so Biden may not have been getting regular PSA blood tests, Smith said. What’s more, while the PSA test can help flag some cancers in some men, it does not do a great job of identifying aggressive prostate cancer, Smith said ...

https://apnews.com/article/biden-prostate-cancer-2acca9da55ea0f0a09546cd918437444

[slightlv]

9. Sounds a lot like Ovarian Cancer in women.

By the time you and the docs realize something is probably seriously wrong, it's too late, tho. And I've not heard of any great advances in its treatment or prevention. RIP Gilda Radner.

[struggle4progress]

2. Why Biden may not have known about his cancer until recently

Prostate cancer can be found and diagnosed in its later stages, experts said.

By Mary Kekatos
May 19, 2025, 6:36 PM

Former President Joe Biden's office announced on Sunday that he was diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer.

Biden's office also said the cancer had metastasized, spreading to his bones.

Although some people were left wondering why the cancer was caught only after reaching a Gleason score of 9, oncology experts told ABC News that it's not uncommon for older prostate cancer patients to receive a diagnosis after the disease has advanced or spread ...

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/biden-aggressive-prostate-cancer-recently/story?id=121957364

[Walleye]

3. I believed Joe Biden without proof. Because he is an honest man.

[calimary]

11. Me too. Makes all the difference.

He just wasn’t, and isn’t, a sneaky kind of guy. Very honest and genuine. Wasn’t always thinking about how to pull something over on someone else to get an advantage for himself, unlike some other conniving attention-desperate shit we know.

[Walleye]

13. People should learn to trust their instincts when it comes to truth and lies

I think humans have a built-in lie detector, they just won’t listen to it. They’d rather believe bullshit.

[struggle4progress]

4. How Doctors Treat Aggressive Prostate Cancer Like Joe Biden's

May 19, 2025 5:51 PM ET

... Recent studies show that survival for men with prostate cancer that has spread to the bone is just under two years. But this form of cancer, though aggressive, can sometimes be controlled ...

“The good news is this: we have now entered an era of different treatments that I call therapy intensification where we are trying to attack cancer with a multi-modality approach,” says Dr. Maha Hussain, deputy director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We can come up with a significant prolongation of life by comparison to when I entered the field." She has seen patients with prostate cancer that has spread survive and "live many, many years.”

Most prostate cancer is fueled by the male hormone testosterone, so the most effective strategies to control it starve the cancer by cutting off its supply, say experts. Historically, doctors have removed the testes—the main source of the hormone—but today, pills and injections can suppress testosterone not just in the testes but in other organs that produce small amounts, such as the adrenal glands, as well. Doctors also now add chemotherapy to hormone-suppression to better control cancer growth.

Exactly which combinations of treatments are right for Biden will depend on whether his cancer is new or if it was previously diagnosed and recently re-emerged. Either scenario is possible, say experts ...

https://time.com/7286596/joe-biden-prostate-cancer-treatment/

[sheshe2]

5. Thank you for all the information.

[MLWR]

6. I have been waiting for someone

who has actual, personal experience to tell us exactly what you have told us. I'm sick and tired of the know-nothings on the right speculating and prognosticating on the basis of only their own imaginations with no real, medical knowledge or personal experience. So, I thank you sincerely for enlightening those of us who are truly interested and not out to bloviate or cash in.

[peggysue2]

7. Hear, hear

One of the most reasonable and caring articles I've read regarding Joe Biden's diagnosis.

to Mr. Crim.

[Cha]

8. Mahalo for all these Informative articles

Last edited Sun May 25, 2025, 07:19 PM - Edit history (1)

on Diagnosing Prostrate Cancer, Struggle.

[calimary]

10. Good article. One everybody should read, whether they have cancer or don't,

and whether they think they do or not.

[DET]

12. The Heart of the Problem

There are two standard procedures that are done to initially test for prostate cancer 1. a PSA blood test and 2. a DRE (digital rectal exam). These tests should be done annually, usually as part of the annual physical. If the PSA level is found to be high, then a prostate biopsy (NOT fun) and/or an MRI will be recommended. The biopsy is used to determine the Gleason score (1-10), which is a measure of how aggressive the cancer is.

Unfortunately, the ‘official’ age recommendations for PSA testing (ages 55-70) are seriously out of date. Plenty of men both younger and older develop prostate cancer, and it’s important to test for it before it reaches stage 4 (treatable but incurable). Treatment is also easier the sooner the cancer is caught.

Men who are initially diagnosed with a Gleason score of 8-10 have almost invariably not had their PSA tested for several years - generally because of the official age recommendations. This is especially regrettable since PSA testing is cheap and easy.

The takeaway - ask your doctor for a PSA test at your annual physical or if you experience symptoms (usually urinary). Personally, I’d insist on it (it’s not generally done unless you specifically ask for it).