Watch: Biden rings bell to mark end of cancer treatment
Former President Joe Biden celebrated his completion of radiation therapy with family and doctors after being diagnosed with a form of prostate cancer.
Former President Joe Biden’s cancer has spread beyond his bones and is causing him significant pain, his son Hunter Biden said in a BBC interview.
Hunter Biden became emotional while discussing his father’s health during an interview with BBC Newsnight, saying his father’s cancer has “metastasized into his bones and further.” He described the disease as “very painful” and “very debilitating.”
“Cancer is really hard,” Hunter Biden said, according to the BBC. “It’s really sad to watch.”
Hunter Biden said his father remains the center of the Biden family and praised the former president’s resilience as he continues to deal with the illness.
“My dad is, to this day, the center of our family,” he said. “He’s the best father, the best husband, the best grandfather.”
Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis
Biden, 83, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025 after experiencing urinary symptoms. Doctors discovered a nodule on his prostate, and the cancer had already spread to his bones by the time it was detected.
The former president has continued receiving treatment for the disease. His treatment has included radiation and hormone therapy, which he began last October.
Biden previously said he was “feeling good” after his diagnosis and that doctors expected his treatment to be effective.
Jill Biden says treatment is ongoing
Former first lady Jill Biden said earlier this week that her husband’s cancer requires ongoing monitoring and treatment.
During an Aug. 5 interview on SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa,” Jill Biden said her husband had been making frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom, sometimes as many as seven times a night. She said the issue continued after the couple left the White House in January 2025, prompting her to urge him to seek additional medical care.
“We have to be mindful of it every three months, testing and medicines,” she told Ripa. “And anybody who’s gone through this cancer journey – and I’ve been through it many times with members of my family, of course with Beau – it’s constant. It’s daily. And I think it’s challenging.”
Biden’s oldest son, Beau Biden, died in 2015 at age 46 after battling brain cancer.
Hunter Biden did not provide additional details in the BBC interview about the extent of his father’s cancer or whether his treatment has changed.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States aside from nonmelanoma skin cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT