A doctor who worked with Joe Biden has claimed that the former President had cancer while in office.
The White House confirmed over the weekend that Biden had been diagnosed with prostate cancer following urinary issues that led to the discovery of a “small nodule.”
A statement from his office revealed the diagnosis came with a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5), with metastasis to the bone — a sign of advanced, aggressive cancer.
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” the statement read.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised 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. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
According to the Mayo Clinic: “The Gleason score and grade group are numbers that tell your healthcare team whether your prostate cancer is growing slowly or quickly. How quickly a cancer grows also is called a cancer's grade.”
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a top cancer specialist and former member of Biden’s transition team, stunned MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday when he claimed: “He’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading. He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days.
“He had it while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021. Yes, I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that,” Emanuel said.
Emanuel noted that while some medical guidelines suggest PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tests aren’t necessary after age 70, Biden would have had opportunities to screen earlier.
“He was vice president and had a lot of exams under 70. So it’s a little surprising that they didn’t do it,” he said. “And maybe President Biden decided he didn’t want the test. Many men do decide they don’t want a PSA, but this is also aggressive.”
He added: “When we talk about the aggressive part, what we mean is that Gleason score, that score is from two up to 10. And he’s a nine. And that means that the cancer doesn’t look normal, it looks very abnormal, which is probably why it’s in the bone.”
Emanuel pointed out that previous presidents had PSA tests while in office. “I don’t know what President Biden and his doctor discussed, but I think you are hinting at the other element, which is that President Obama had this test, President Bush had this test,” he said.
“It is a little surprising that the doctor didn’t take it. And if he took it and didn’t report it and it was elevated, that is another case of doctors not being straightforward with us.
“We’ve had several of them with President Trump, especially around his Covid diagnosis. And if that is true, that would be very troubling,” he added.
When asked exactly how long Biden might have had cancer, Emanuel said: “We don’t know, obviously. And it is a little surprising to many of us oncologists that he wasn’t diagnosed earlier.”