Specialties & Diseases > Oncology & Hematology

Was Biden's cancer missed—or were we just busy looking somewhere else?

By MDLinx staff

Published May 19, 2025

Key Takeaways

Industry Buzz

“Oh, he’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading. It’s a little surprising, I look back at the records, and there’s no evidence that when he got his health status and the medical records were released, that he had a prostate-specific antigen.” — Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, oncologist and bioethicist
"Prostate cancer's extremely common in somebody in their 80s. Typically, we say 80% of guys in their 80s have prostate cancer. But not all those have advanced prostate cancer." — Rahul Mehan, MD, urologist

When former President Joe Biden’s health made headlines early in his presidency, the dominant concern wasn’t cancer—it was cognition.

From debate stumbles to speech slip-ups, both media and political commentators scrutinized his every move for signs of cognitive decline.

But on May 16, 2025, there was an announcement that Biden had been diagnosed with aggressive, metastatic prostate cancer. ^[] And it raised an uncomfortable question: Did we all miss the more urgent medical story?

Speculation he had it earlier

According to a May 19, 2025 segment on MSNBC's Morning Joe, oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, said he believed Biden was battling prostate cancer during his presidential term in office. ^[]

“Oh, he’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading,” Dr. Emanuel said. “It’s a little surprising, I look back at the records, and there’s no evidence that when he got his health status and the medical records were released, that he had a prostate-specific antigen.”

The statement may be speculative, but it comes on the heels of a confirmed diagnosis: high-grade (Gleason 9) prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bone. This isn’t a new cancer. It’s one that was likely developing—and potentially symptomatic—for some time.

“We don’t know [how many years], obviously, and it is a little surprising to many of us oncologists that he wasn’t diagnosed earlier,” Dr. Emanuel said, noting that a regular prostate exam would have very likely caught the cancer.

PSA levels and political blind spots

It’s well established that prostate cancer can be tracked with a simple PSA test, and it’s standard practice in men of Biden’s age. Many physicians have since questioned how a cancer this advanced could have escaped detection.

Theories range from incomplete testing to suppressed disclosure. But it’s equally plausible that, in the intense spotlight on cognitive function, his cancer diagnosis simply didn’t get the attention it warranted—from the media, or from those interpreting his medical records.

Indeed, during his presidency, Biden faced scrutiny over his cognitive abilities, especially following a poor performance in a June 2024 presidential debate.

These concerns led to increased media coverage of his mental fitness, potentially overshadowing other health issues. In July 2024, Biden suspended his re-election campaign amid mounting pressure and concerns about his age and health

The cost of cognitive tunnel vision

The broader issue here isn’t just about one man’s cancer—it’s about how the media’s cognitive obsession may have created a kind of diagnostic tunnel vision.

It’s not hard to imagine how urinary symptoms, fatigue, or even weight changes could be chalked up to age or stress—or overlooked entirely in a political environment hyper-focused on mental acuity.

As clinicians, we’re taught to consider the whole patient, not just the loudest symptom. But the Biden case is a stark reminder of how outside narratives can skew even clinical interpretation.