SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The cancer has metastasized to the bone, representing what a statement from Biden's office framed as a more aggressive form of the disease. This announcement comes just four months after Biden left office. With more on this, we are joined by NPR reporter Luke Garrett. Hey, Luke.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: Hey.
DETROW: What do we know?
GARRETT: So last week, former President Biden went to the doctor's and was evaluated for a small nodule found in his prostate. The 82-year-old had also been, quote, "experiencing increasing urinary symptoms," end quote, according to a statement. It goes on to say that Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday and that the cancer received a Gleason score of nine. This means it's a more aggressive case. The statement ends by saying that the cancer, quote, "appears to be hormone sensitive, which allows for effective management," end quote, and that the Bidens are reviewing treatment options.
Now, it's worth noting here that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer and relatively treatable. But with this prostate cancer moving to President Biden's bones, this is certainly a serious diagnosis.
DETROW: Yeah, and we should say this diagnosis comes at a moment when Biden's name has been in the news with a lot of recent scrutiny about his health when he was in the White House.
GARRETT: That's right. The cancer diagnosis comes just two days before the publishing of an expose book called "Original Sin," written by journalist Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson The book chronicles the term of the then-oldest president in history and his deteriorating physical and mental condition. In the lead-up to the book, excerpts have exposed the efforts by those in the White House to shield Biden's age and his increased slowness.
And on top of the book, on Friday, Axios released the audio of Biden's 2023 interview with Robert K. Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents. That audio showed Biden's fragile voice and his struggles to give dates and details.
Now, those close to Biden have defended him and his presidency, despite the book and the audio. And it's also worth noting here, Scott, that NPR hasn't confirmed the book's reporting and also hasn't independently verified the authenticity of that audio. But both have reignited a debate about Biden's cognitive capacity in the latter part of his presidency.
DETROW: And Luke, the last thing we should note is that Biden and his family do have a history of cancer, and it's a real personal one.
GARRETT: That's right. Biden's son Beau died after battling brain cancer. Beau died in 2015, when Joe Biden was the vice president to President Obama. And as vice president, Joe Biden led the Cancer Moonshot program, a huge investment in research and technology to cut cancer deaths in half within 25 years. So that's been a personal issue for him as vice president, and he continued that as president as well.
DETROW: NPR's Luke Garrett, thank you so much.
GARRETT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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