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Last Updated:May 19, 2025, 12:22 IST
Joe Biden has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. He joins a list of past US presidents who have battled various forms of cancer while in or after office.
A depiction of George Washington (L)/Joe Biden (R) (Photos: AP)
Joe Biden, diagnosed with ‘aggressive’ prostate cancer, has been receiving supportive messages ever since the diagnosis was made public. According to the President’s office, his cancer has spread to his bones.
Biden and his family are reviewing treatment options with doctors after the 82-year-old President experienced urinary symptoms.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, of the 2,36,659 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in 2021, 70 per cent were diagnosed before the cancer had spread beyond the prostate. About 8 per cent of new prostate cancer diagnoses that year involved advanced-stage disease.
Joe Biden is not the first US President to have been diagnosed with cancer. Several of the previous presidents of the United States had also been diagnosed with the disease in the past.
Here’s a look at past US presidents who had been diagnosed with cancer.
George Washington, who was the first US President, was diagnosed with skin cancer, likely a melanoma, which was treated in 1794. He died on December 14, 1799, from acute epiglottitis, a rapidly progressing throat infection. He was 67.Ulysses S Grant, the 18th President of the United States, died of throat cancer. He was 63. Grant served as the President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. He died on July 23, 1885.Grover Cleveland, who was the 22nd (from 1885 to 1889) and the 24th President (from 1893 to 1897) of the United States, was diagnosed with a cancerous growth in his mouth in 1893, soon after entering his second term. His doctor described his cancer as “nearly the size of a quarter with cauliflower granulation". After years of being severely ill, Cleveland suffered a heart attack in 1908. He died on June 24 at age 71.Herbert Clark Hoover, who served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933, died from complications of colorectal cancer. While he underwent a colectomy for the cancer, he also suffered from cirrhosis and recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding, eventually dying from massive bleeding due to a Dieulafoy lesion of the gastric cardia, according to the Institutes of Health (NIH).Lyndon Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States. He served from 1963 to 1969. According to a report with The New York Times, Johnson had secret surgery for skin cancer on his left ankle while he served as the President. He died of a heart attack on January 22, 1973, at age 64.Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th President of the United States, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, meaning the cancer had spread to his liver and brain, in August 2015. He underwent surgery for the liver mass and radiation therapy for the brain lesions, and declared himself cancer-free later the same year. He died away in 2024 at the age of 100.Ronald Wilson Reagan, who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989, underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in July 1985. The procedure involved removing a cancerous polyp and a portion of his lower intestine, which were discovered during a routine colonoscopy. The President was later declared cancer-free. He died on June 5, 2004.Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, has had a history of skin cancers, cysts, allergies and some hearing problems. He served in office from 1993 to 2001. Bill Clinton also suffers from heart disease, which was diagnosed in 2004 after he suffered from shortness of breath and chest pains.In the case of Joe Biden, his physical health and mental acuity drew scrutiny during his 2021-2025 presidency.
He abruptly ended his bid for reelection last July, weeks after a halting performance during a debate against Republican Donald Trump prompted panic among his fellow Democrats.
Location : First Published:News world From George Washington To Joe Biden, US Presidents Diagnosed With Cancer
