Doctor reveals what Biden’s cancer diagnosis means, and if it’s likely to be curable

Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and a top doctor has revealed what the diagnosis actually means for his health and future.

“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” the ex-president’s office announced in a statement.

“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” it continued. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Dr William Dahut, the Chief Scientific Officer at the American Cancer Society, has explained what that medical lingo actually means and sadly, the cancer isn’t likely to be curable.

“In general, if cancer has spread to the bones, we don’t think it is considered a curable cancer,” he told the BBC.

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He said that based on the information that is publicly available, it’s a very “aggressive” form of prostate cancer, but it does respond well to treatment.

There are treatment options available and “people can live many years with the diagnosis,” the cancer doctor explained. However, it is at the worst possible stage.

Dahut said that someone with the politician’s diagnosis is likely to be offered hormonal therapies to help his symptoms and slow the growth of cancerous cells.

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Prostate cancer is graded from one to five based on how quickly the cells are likely to grow or how aggressive they look, Cancer Research UK explains.

Grade Group 5, which Biden has been diagnosed with, is the most aggressive form of cancer, when the cells “look very abnormal” and the cancer is “likely to grow quickly”.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK and the second most common in the US, behind skin cancer.

Around one in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime and the risk increases with age. It is also the leading cause of cancer deaths in men.

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Featured image by: Shutterstock