President Donald Trump reacted with sympathy and surprise to the news of Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis. He expressed concern that the public was only now learning of the former president’s condition.
Biden’s office announced Sunday that he has an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, diagnosed just two days earlier. The cancer has already metastasized to the bone.
“I think it’s very sad, actually,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I’m surprised that the public wasn’t notified a long time ago because to get to stage 9, that’s a long time.”
While Biden’s cancer is stage four, he received a Gleason score of nine, the highest grade group, indicating a fast-growing and aggressive form of the disease.
Trump noted he had recently undergone a physical and shared results publicly. “I think that test is standard to pretty much anybody getting a physical, good physical,” he said. He also added that cognitive tests were included and suggested, “anybody running for president should… take a cognitive test.”
Biden’s team said the cancer is hormone-sensitive, which opens the door for more effective treatment. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” the statement read.
On Monday, Biden posted, “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
The timing of the announcement has sparked questions among some medical professionals. They suggest the cancer’s severity indicates it was likely discovered much earlier than claimed.
Dr. Chris George, director of Northwestern Health Network’s cancer program, told Reuters he’d be shocked if Biden had a normal PSA test within the past year. “Usually prostate cancer doesn’t go full throttle like this too often,” he said. “It does seem odd to me.”