Dr. Stephen Quay is raising red flags about President Joe Biden’s recent prostate cancer diagnosis. He told said he doesn’t buy that the cancer was only just discovered.
“There is a mismatch between the standard of care [Biden] should have been getting, and what we’re hearing about now,” Quay said. He cited peer-reviewed studies showing that in 85 to 90% of cases, prostate cancer progresses over five to seven years before reaching an advanced, metastatic stage.
Biden’s office said his cancer is aggressive and has already spread to his bones. But Quay, a University of Michigan-educated doctor and scientist, says that kind of rapid progression is rare—maybe one or two percent of cases. He’s even received death threats for questioning the timeline.
Quay explained that Biden’s cancer is hormone sensitive, which means it’s treated with Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT). “The standard treatment would be to deprive the body of testosterone,” he said. That kind of treatment, especially in someone Biden’s age, can lead to weakness and noticeable cognitive decline.
“Out of 100 men, nearly 40% will have a serious fall within six to 12 months of ADT treatment,” he noted. Cognitive effects, he added, are also common. “They just notice that maybe they’re not as sharp … people around the patient might also notice.”
He didn’t claim to know when Biden was diagnosed, but suggested the president’s gait and mental sharpness could be explained by side effects of treatment. “It’s true that he probably couldn’t be elected with cancer or cognitive issues,” Quay said. “So at some point, he would have to make a calculated decision whether or not to tell people.”
A Biden spokesman insisted the diagnosis came last Friday and nothing was hidden. Biden’s last PSA test, which screens for prostate cancer, was reportedly in 2014. That detail drew more criticism from Quay.
In a post on X, he said, “It would be malpractice for this patient to show up and be first diagnosed with metastatic disease in May 2025.” He argued Biden was “highly likely” living with cancer during his presidency—and the public didn’t know.
PSA tests aren’t always recommended after age 69, but Quay said that’s no excuse in Biden’s case. “For someone in Biden’s position, it seemed unwise not to go ahead with the test.”