Former United States President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread further through his body and is now causing substantial pain and physical debilitation, his son Hunter Biden has revealed, providing one of the most concerning public updates yet about the former president’s health.
Hunter Biden discussed his father’s condition during a BBC interview broadcast late on Friday, August 7, saying the cancer had metastasised into Biden’s bones and further and had become painful and debilitating. The comments were subsequently reported by Reuters and The Associated Press on August 8 and were drawing wider attention internationally on August 9.
Joe Biden, now 83, announced in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones. His medical team classified the disease with a Gleason score of 9, or Grade Group 5, placing it among the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. His office said at the time that the cancer was hormone-sensitive, an important characteristic because it can allow doctors to manage the disease using therapies designed to suppress the hormones that help prostate cancer grow.
The latest disclosure does not mean Biden’s doctors have said treatment has failed. In July 2026, Biden publicly said his treatment was going very well, while reports during 2025 confirmed that he had received hormone therapy and radiation treatment. However, Hunter Biden’s description indicates that the former president is dealing with a more physically difficult phase of an illness that was metastatic from the time it was publicly disclosed.
Biden nevertheless remains publicly engaged. Hunter said his father continued speaking about issues important to him despite his illness, while the former president is preparing to publish a memoir later in 2026.
What did Hunter Biden reveal about Joe Biden’s cancer in his latest interview?
Hunter Biden’s comments provide a more personal description of his father’s condition than the relatively clinical updates previously released by Biden’s representatives.
He said the cancer had metastasised into his father’s bones and further and described the disease as very painful and debilitating. Hunter became emotional while discussing the illness and said it was difficult for the family to watch Biden endure the condition.
At the same time, Hunter described his father as someone who rarely complains about his own physical suffering and said he wished Biden would speak more openly about what he was experiencing.
That distinction matters because Biden has continued presenting himself publicly as active and engaged despite undergoing cancer treatment.
In July, the former president released a video announcing his forthcoming memoir and said his cancer treatment was progressing well. The comments suggested that doctors were managing the disease successfully even though metastatic prostate cancer generally requires long-term treatment rather than a short course followed by a conventional cure.
The August comments from Hunter do not necessarily contradict that assessment.
Cancer can respond to treatment while still producing significant symptoms, particularly when it has spread to bones or other parts of the body. Pain, weakness and fatigue can arise from both the disease and the treatments used to control it.
No detailed new medical report from Biden’s doctors accompanied Hunter’s interview, meaning the exact extent of additional spread, current tumour burden and response to treatment remain private.
That makes it important not to interpret the family comments as a formal medical prognosis.
When was Joe Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer and how aggressive was the disease?
Biden’s office disclosed his diagnosis on May 18, 2025, less than four months after he left the White House.
The announcement followed medical evaluation after Biden experienced increasing urinary symptoms and doctors discovered a prostate nodule. Further testing established that he had prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 9, Grade Group 5, and that the disease had metastasised to bone.
The Gleason grading system is used to describe how abnormal prostate cancer cells appear under a microscope.
Higher scores generally indicate more aggressive disease. A Gleason score of 9 is therefore considered high-grade prostate cancer and indicates that the cancer cells are more likely to grow and spread quickly than lower-grade tumours.
Biden’s doctors nevertheless identified an important treatment characteristic: the cancer was hormone-sensitive.
Prostate cancer growth is frequently driven by male hormones known as androgens. Hormone-sensitive cancers can therefore respond to treatments designed to lower testosterone levels or prevent cancer cells from using those hormones.
Biden later underwent hormone treatment and radiation therapy. A spokesperson confirmed in October 2025 that radiation formed part of his treatment programme.
The presence of bone metastases meant Biden’s cancer was already advanced when publicly diagnosed. The latest comments from Hunter suggest the disease now affects additional areas, although no precise locations have been disclosed publicly.
Why can metastatic prostate cancer cause severe pain when it spreads to the bones?
Prostate cancer commonly spreads to bone when it becomes metastatic.
Bone metastases can affect the spine, pelvis, ribs and other parts of the skeleton. Cancer cells growing within bone can interfere with normal bone structure, creating pain and increasing the possibility of weakness or fractures.
The severity varies widely between patients.
Some people with metastatic prostate cancer continue normal activities for long periods with relatively manageable symptoms, particularly when treatment controls tumour growth effectively. Others experience significant pain, fatigue and reduced mobility.
Hunter Biden’s description suggests that his father is experiencing substantial symptoms even while remaining publicly active.
That is not unusual in advanced cancer treatment. Clinical management often involves controlling several problems simultaneously, including the tumour itself, pain, fatigue and the effects of medication.
Biden’s age also influences how closely doctors must manage treatment.
At 83, he is likely to require careful balancing between suppressing the cancer and preserving strength, mobility and overall quality of life. None of this provides a reliable prediction of an individual patient’s prognosis without access to detailed medical records.
The most useful confirmed information remains what Biden’s office previously disclosed: the disease is aggressive and metastatic but hormone-sensitive, giving doctors established treatment options for managing it.
How does the painful August health update compare with Biden’s more optimistic July message?
The change in public language is striking.
On July 15, Biden said his cancer treatment was going really well while announcing his forthcoming memoir. His comments presented the illness as serious but under active medical management.
Less than a month later, Hunter Biden provided a much more intimate description of the physical burden.
Both statements can be true simultaneously.
An oncologist may consider treatment effective because it is slowing disease progression or reducing certain cancer markers while the patient still experiences considerable pain from metastatic disease.
Similarly, a patient may choose to focus publicly on treatment progress while family members witness the daily physical impact more closely.
Hunter’s comments therefore provide a different perspective rather than necessarily establishing that Biden experienced sudden medical deterioration during the weeks between the two statements.
Still, the phrase that the cancer has spread further is significant.
Biden’s original diagnosis already included bone metastasis. A statement that the disease has spread beyond that point suggests progression has occurred since the original May 2025 announcement, although the available public information does not establish when that happened or which additional organs or tissues may now be involved.
Is Joe Biden still making public appearances despite his metastatic cancer treatment?
Yes. Biden has remained publicly active, although his schedule is significantly lighter than when he occupied the White House.
Hunter said his father continues speaking publicly about subjects he considers important. Biden has attended political and public events during his post-presidency and has also worked on a memoir scheduled for release after the 2026 United States midterm elections.
His public role has inevitably changed.
Biden spent much of his presidency under unusually intense scrutiny over his age and physical capabilities. Those questions became politically decisive after his June 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump intensified Democratic concerns about whether he should seek another term.
Biden eventually withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and left office in January 2025 as the oldest person ever to serve as United States president.
His cancer diagnosis was announced several months later.
The timing generated renewed political debate over Biden’s health while in office, although prostate cancer can develop and progress without producing symptoms that clearly establish when metastasis occurred.
The latest update is therefore primarily a health story rather than evidence about Biden’s condition while president.
Hunter’s interview nevertheless places renewed attention on the extraordinary transition Biden has experienced from commanding one of the world’s most demanding political offices to managing advanced cancer in retirement.
Why has the Biden family’s experience with cancer carried particular emotional significance?
Cancer has shaped the Biden family for decades.
Joe Biden’s eldest son, Beau Biden, died from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in May 2015 at the age of 46.
Beau’s illness had a profound impact on Joe Biden personally and politically and influenced his decision not to enter the 2016 presidential election.
After leaving the vice presidency, Biden became heavily involved in cancer research advocacy. The Biden Cancer Initiative and later the Cancer Moonshot sought to accelerate research, improve screening and increase cooperation across medical institutions.
He revived the Cancer Moonshot during his presidency with a long-term objective of substantially reducing cancer deaths in the United States.
His own diagnosis has therefore created an unusual personal dimension to a policy issue he spent years advocating around.
Jill Biden has also spoken publicly about the emotional difficulty of caring for a spouse receiving cancer treatment and has indicated that the disease is likely to remain part of their lives over the long term.
Hunter’s latest interview adds another family perspective.
Rather than focusing on treatments or statistics, he described watching his father deal with pain while continuing to resist complaining about his condition.
What could the latest update mean for Biden’s forthcoming memoir and political legacy?
Biden is expected to release a memoir later in 2026 covering his presidency and the events surrounding his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential campaign.
The timing guarantees intense interest.
Questions over Biden’s age, cognitive fitness and whether advisers adequately disclosed concerns about his condition became central political controversies during and after his presidency.
His cancer diagnosis is medically separate from debates over his cognitive capabilities, but the illness has become part of the larger story of his post-presidential life.
Biden’s own account could therefore become one of the most closely watched political memoirs by a former president in recent years.
The book may offer his perspective on the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the Democratic Party’s internal conflict and the decisions that led him to leave the presidential race.
His health could now influence the extent to which he is able or willing to promote the memoir through interviews, speeches and public events.
Hunter’s comments also change the emotional context around those appearances.
Future public engagements will inevitably be viewed with awareness that Biden is continuing political and literary work while managing advanced cancer and substantial pain.
What are the key takeaways from the latest Joe Biden cancer update on August 9?
- Former United States President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread further and is causing significant pain and physical debilitation, according to his son Hunter Biden.
- Biden was originally diagnosed in May 2025 with aggressive prostate cancer carrying a Gleason score of 9, Grade Group 5, with the disease already metastatic to his bones.
- His cancer was described as hormone-sensitive, giving doctors established treatment options capable of suppressing the hormonal signals that help many prostate cancers grow.
- Biden subsequently underwent hormone treatment and radiation therapy, with his spokesperson confirming the treatment programme in October 2025.
- Hunter Biden said the disease had spread into his father’s bones and further, although Biden’s doctors have not publicly identified the additional locations or issued a new detailed medical prognosis.
- The latest description is more concerning than Biden’s own July 2026 update, when the former president said his cancer treatment was going really well while announcing his forthcoming memoir.
- Despite the illness, the 83-year-old former president continues making selected public appearances and speaking about political and public issues that remain important to him.
- Biden’s health update also carries considerable personal significance because his son Beau Biden died from brain cancer in 2015 and cancer research became one of Joe Biden’s defining policy priorities.
What should readers watch next as Joe Biden continues treatment for advanced prostate cancer?
The most important next development will be whether Biden’s medical team provides a formal update clarifying what Hunter meant when he said the cancer had spread further.
That would help distinguish between disease progression identified some time ago and a more recent change in Biden’s condition.
Until such information emerges, speculation about prognosis should be avoided.
Metastatic prostate cancer is serious and generally requires ongoing treatment, but individual outcomes vary substantially according to the biology of the tumour, response to medication, overall health and several other factors that cannot be determined from public statements alone.
The contrast between Biden’s July optimism and Hunter’s August description should likewise be treated carefully.
Treatment can be working while a patient remains in significant pain. Advanced cancer management is often about controlling disease and preserving quality of life over time rather than producing a straightforward binary outcome of treatment success or failure.
What is clear is that Biden’s post-presidential life has entered a difficult phase.
The former president continues writing, speaking and participating selectively in public life while undergoing treatment for one of the most serious medical challenges he has faced.
Hunter Biden’s disclosure has made the physical cost of that struggle considerably more visible.
For a politician whose age and health were debated relentlessly during his final years in office, the latest development will inevitably attract political attention. Yet the central story on August 9 is simpler: an 83-year-old former president is living with aggressive metastatic cancer, his family says the disease is painful and debilitating, and his doctors continue managing a condition that was advanced from the moment it became public.
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