Some wonder how Sunday’s announcement that former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer The disease was not discovered early.
As president, Biden was able to access VIP care. VIP care exceeds the health testing and health care provided to the average patient. Members of the White House complex have access to medical staff 24 hours a day via the White House medical units, with special facilities secured at military hospitals. The president’s body usually does not turn over the stones when it comes to physical health and fitness for the job. And presidents, including Biden, usually share some information from their health checks.
So, how did you get to be 82? Does the president, who has only been in office for a few months, suffer from stage IV cancer that has spread to his bones?
Experts say they understand that the situation may encourage fear and doubt, but they are not unheard of either. And while many men are familiar with what comes with screening for prostate cancer, some may not realize that the typical screening is no longer recommended once a man reaches Biden’s age.
Dr. Oliver Sartor, a prostate cancer researcher at Tulane University, said he has already called to Biden about his diagnosis.
“I’ve already been contacted by a friend of mine. He said, ‘Why is this happening? And it must have been a cover-up.” ”
Biden’s inauguration health was a subject of interest.
A new book written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson explains that even before halting the CNN discussion, aides showed signs of decline that they ignored or described This led to his decision to close the 2024 election in three weeks.
A doctor reached by CNN this week said prostate cancer is not generally associated with cognitive issues.
Biden has been keeping things under-represented since leaving office, but recently appeared in “The View” with his wife Jill, pushing back claims that his health decline is hidden from the public.
“They’re wrong,” Biden said. “There’s nothing to keep it.”
The former first lady said, “The people who wrote those books weren’t in the White House with us, and we didn’t see how hard Joe worked every day.
Prostate cancer is a serious health concern for men. According to the American Cancer Society, this is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among American men, killing around 35,000 people each year.
Among recent presidents, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump reported the results of prostate cancer screening as part of their annual physical physics. Biden’s medical reports during his presidency did not mention prostate cancer testing.
President Trump said Monday that he was surprised that “the public had not been notified long ago” of Biden’s diagnosis.
“I just had my body. Did you see that? You saw the results of that particular test. I think the test is pretty standard for people who get the body,” Trump said in a news briefing.
But prostate cancer experts say it’s not always the case.
Dr. Bilal Siddiqui, a cancer oncologist and prostate cancer researcher at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said there are two potential explanations for Biden’s late diagnosis.
“In the beginning, it’s probably he wasn’t screened, and that would actually be reasonable,” he said.
Since the 1990s, men have been able to undergo blood tests to check the levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen or PSA that may indicate the presence of prostate cancer. However, according to the American Urology Association, false positives for this test are up to 70% higher. Those showing results may need a biopsy to rule out cancer.
Many medical associations say whether or not you are going to get tested should be a shared decision between a man and a doctor. Still, screening is not recommended for men of all ages.
Most prostate cancers grow slower. In some cases, treatment can actually cause more damage than the disease itself. Common side effects may include incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Therefore, independent experts reviewing screening studies from the US Preventive Services Task Force are recommended for screening men over the age of 70. Similarly, the American Cancer Society says that men with no symptoms with extended life expectancy should not screen men with less than 10 years. Biden is 82 years old, with an average lifespan of approximately 76 for men in the US.
Another possibility is that Biden had a “interval cancer.” This means that it appeared itself at intervals between regular screenings.
Interval cancer is aggressive and can progress quickly, Siddiki said.
“Even within six months or a year during screening, it is certainly possible that cancer can grow quickly enough to emerge as metastatic cancer,” he said.
Especially in rare cases, cancer can produce very low levels that do not produce PSA or raise screening alarms.
“These are the most aggressive cancers and do not produce PSA, so there are several explanations as to why this diagnosis appeared,” added Siddiqui.
Dr. Otis Broley, an oncologist and an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University and screening epidemiologist, said he had nine patients in the past year.
He explains the difference in prostate cancer types with patients by comparing it to cats. There’s a house cat and a cat in the alley, Broly said, then there’s a tiger and a lion.
“They’re all cats,” he said.
Doctors are learning to use tumor genetics to communicate the difference between tamed growth cancers that require no attention and ferocious cancers that resist the best treatment, he said.
Biden’s Health History and Future
In 2019, as Biden was preparing for office, his doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, issued a statement on his health, including a detailed medical history.
The statement points to Biden experiencing a common condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. In almost all men, the donut-shaped prostate swells with age and grows to a plum-to-medium apple-sized size. In the process, you can suffocate the urethra, the tube that emptys the bladder. Men with BPH often have to stand up in the middle of the night to pee, and it can be difficult to empty their bladder. According to Biden’s medical records, the condition was first treated with medication and then with surgery.
Brawley says it’s not clear whether BPH is associated with the development of prostate cancer.
“The problem is that so many men have prostate cancer and so many men get BPH,” he said. “What I want to say is that both are associated with the prostate, and both are associated with an aging man.”
According to Brawley, there is some evidence that drugs that reduce the prostate cancer, finasteride, could help prevent prostate cancer, but they may be linked, but that hasn’t been clearly proven.
Even if Biden had undetectable prostate cancer while he was in office, doctors say it would not have affected his memories or thoughts.
“In general, prostate cancer should not cause cognitive problems in itself. It is very rare for prostate cancer to spread to the brain,” Siddiqui said.
However, treatments that usually involve drugs that block the hormone testosterone can have a negative effect on the brain and body.
“What it leads to is low testosterone, fatigue, hot flashes, night sweats, muscle loss, bone fragility and increased risk of fractures, weight gain and memory issues, and cognitive slowdown,” Siddiki added.
Sutter said he has hopes for Biden’s prognosis.
“The bad news is that it can no longer be cured. Once prostate cancer spreads to the bone, it’s no longer considered a curable cancer, but it’s usually well controlled for several years,” he said.