Amidst the political clamor, a profound health announcement regarding former President Joe Biden has surfaced, raising significant questions among experts about the timing and transparency of his cancer diagnosis.
According to the Daily Caller and the Daily Mail, Joe Biden, diagnosed with an advanced prostate cancer, has sparked discussions over the potential longevity of his condition before its recent disclosure.
Reports have noted that Biden was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. This concerning revelation was disclosed by his office just this past Sunday, with the initial diagnosis publicly shared the preceding Friday.
The doctors' suspicions about the duration of Biden's illness stem from the nature of prostate cancer. Typically, the metastasization of prostate cancer to the bone is a progression that requires at least five years. It was during a routine check-up in mid-May, prompted by urinary issues, that a nodule on Biden's prostate was discovered.
Prostate cancer diagnosis generally involves a combination of a rectal exam and a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test. These tests were conspicuously absent in the public medical reports released throughout Biden's presidency by Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician.
Concerns are deepened by the fact that 2018 guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against routine PSA screenings for men over 70, which might explain the absence of these tests in Biden's medical disclosures. However, experts argue that standard practices could differ given Biden's high-profile status.
Quoting Rep. Greg Murphy, insights into standard medical practices for high-ranking officials were shared. "Normally 80-year-old men are not screened for prostate cancer, but someone running for the highest position in the world should have been looked into," Murphy said.
Despite the troubling diagnosis, there's a ray of hope. Biden's office has shared that his cancer appears to respond positively to hormone treatments. This type of prostate cancer — hormone sensitive — indicates a responsiveness to treatments like Firmagon, which suppresses testosterone, a driver of prostate cancer.
It typically takes several weeks to confirm the effectiveness of such treatments, suggesting that Biden's diagnosis happened at least six weeks before the public announcement. Doctor Steven Quay expressed optimism about current medical capabilities: "We are in a golden age of medicine where treatments not only focus on symptom management but can substantially slow the disease's progression," he noted.
The timing and disclosures regarding Biden's health have led to a broader discussion about transparency. In the recently released book "Original Sin" by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, these broader concerns are highlighted, examining the discrepancies between private concerns and public statements regarding Biden's health.
“It's literally in single digits, probably under 5% probability, that he has had normal PSAs for the last five to six years and then now has metastatic disease," Dr. Quay added, suggesting an increase in Biden's PSA levels might have been observed over the years without public disclosure. Further complicating matters, Dr. Kevin O’Connor had previously expressed private concerns about Biden's health, which contrast starkly with his public assurances of Biden’s robust health during his presidency.
The health disclosure has inevitably seeped into political discussions, with figures like Rep. Greg Murphy hinting at implications of a cover-up. "You just have to wonder how many people were complicit in hiding some of the things that happened with President Biden," Murphy stated, echoing a sentiment of mistrust among some political observers and the public alike.
Nevertheless, the focus remains on Biden's treatment path forward. As Dr. Quay optimistically noted, "He’s going to go on some drugs that will have a few side effects like hot flashes or perhaps some weakness, but essentially, these treatments will grant him a couple more years of no cancer advancement, which is significant at his age."
As these discussions unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that the former President's health saga will remain under scrutiny, intersecting medical concerns with political narratives, and leaving the public pondering the dynamics between personal health and public transparency.