Former President Joe Biden has opened up about how his battle with prostate cancer is affecting his daily life, admitting “some days are better than others.”
The 83-year-old shared the update in a post on X on Sunday, ahead of the release of his presidential memoir, Promise Me, America, later this month on November 17.
Biden explained that he was diagnosed with cancer while he was writing the book. He said that his doctors continue to be encouraged by how he has responded to treatment, and that the prayers and kind words from the public have meant more to him, his wife Jill and their family than they could ever know.
At the same time, he was also honest about the toll the illness is taking, and how it affects his daily life.
“Some days are better than others,” he wrote. “It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down.
“What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves.”
‘Promise Me, America’
The memoir itself covers his four years as president, from 2021 to 2025. Biden has described it as a book about the challenges his administration faced, the decisions he made and why he made them, and his faith in the American people.
Despite everything, Biden ended his post on a hopeful note, sharing a lesson his father taught him: “Champ, when you get knocked down, get up.” He said it was a good lesson for him, and for America.
Biden announced his diagnosis in May 2025, a few months after he left the White House, revealing that doctors had found a nodule on his prostate after he experienced increasing urinary symptoms. His office said at the time that it was an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones, but that it appeared to be hormone-sensitive, allowing doctors to manage it effectively.
He completed a course of radiation treatment in October 2025.
Hunter talks dad’s cancer
In August this year, his son Hunter gave a rare insight into his father’s condition. Speaking to the BBC, Hunter said that the cancer had spread “into his bones and further,” and that it was very painful for his father. He added that it was sad to watch, and that he wished his father would complain more.
Biden’s latest update comes at an emotional time for the family. The oldest living former president, he will turn 84 on November 20, just three days after his memoir is released.
Cancer has already brought great heartbreak to the Biden family. His son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, aged just 46.
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