Former US President Joe Biden is facing a painful new phase in his battle with aggressive prostate cancer after his son Hunter revealed that the disease has spread further through his body.
Biden’s prostate cancer has spread beyond his bones and is causing him severe pain, his son Hunter Biden has revealed, offering a stark update on the 83-year-old former president’s health even as he remains publicly engaged.
In an emotional interview with the BBC, Hunter Biden said watching his father battle the disease had been difficult for the family.
“The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter said.
“It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many respects.”
The latest disclosure indicates that Biden’s health battle has become increasingly difficult more than a year after his office announced that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
Biden’s personal office disclosed in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer characterised by a Gleason score of 9, or Grade Group 5, with the disease having already metastasised to his bones.
At the time, his office said the cancer was aggressive but appeared to be hormone-sensitive, raising the possibility that it could be effectively managed.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said at the time.
Biden and his family were also said to be reviewing treatment options with his doctors.
But Hunter’s latest remarks suggest the former president is now enduring significant physical pain as the cancer progresses.
“It’s really sad to watch,” Hunter said as he described the impact of the illness on his father.
Despite his condition, Biden has continued to speak out publicly on issues that matter to him, maintaining a public presence after leaving the White House in January 2025.
The health update comes as Biden remains one of the most closely watched figures in American politics, with questions about his health and age having dominated much of the final stretch of his presidency.
He was already the oldest person to serve as US president when concerns over his fitness intensified during the 2024 election campaign, eventually leading him to abandon his bid for a second term and endorse his then vice-president, Kamala Harris.
His cancer diagnosis was announced months after he left office, prompting an outpouring of support from political allies and opponents.
In his first public reaction after the diagnosis, Biden wrote: “Cancer touches us all.”
“Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support,” he added.
The former president’s latest health challenge has now brought renewed attention to the personal struggles of a political figure whose family has endured repeated tragedy and illness over decades.
Hunter Biden, in the wide-ranging BBC interview, spoke candidly about the emotional toll of seeing his father in pain while also addressing his own controversies and the presidential pardon he received from his father before Biden left office.
The former president’s battle with cancer has unfolded largely outside the intense daily scrutiny of the White House, but his son’s remarks have placed his health back in the global spotlight.
While no new medical statement detailing Biden’s current treatment or prognosis was immediately announced alongside Hunter’s interview, the revelation that the cancer has spread “further” underscores the seriousness of the former president’s condition.
For Biden, who has spent more than five decades in American public life, the battle is now unfolding as he continues to make his voice heard on public issues despite the pain and debilitating effects described by his son.
The White House years may be behind him, but Biden’s latest struggle has become deeply personal, a fight against an aggressive disease that, according to his son, continues to advance even as the former president refuses to completely retreat from public life.
