LONDON — Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has advanced beyond its original site and is now causing him significant pain, even as he continues to engage in public debate, his son Hunter Biden said in a new interview.
Speaking in a wide-ranging BBC interview that aired late Friday, Hunter Biden became visibly emotional while discussing his father’s health, saying the family has found the situation deeply difficult to witness.
“The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” he said. “It’s very painful, and it’s very debilitating in many respects.”
Biden, 83, made history as the oldest person to serve as president of the United States, and questions about his age and fitness followed him throughout much of his term. He and senior White House aides have since come under sharp scrutiny from critics who claim they downplayed the seriousness of his health challenges, particularly after a damaging debate performance against Donald Trump, who ultimately succeeded him, led Biden to end his re-election campaign.
The former president publicly disclosed his prostate cancer diagnosis in May last year, fewer than four months after leaving office.
Hunter Biden said the news and its aftermath have weighed heavily on the Biden family.
“It’s really sad to watch,” he said. “The only thing that I’d say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more, because it’s not good.”
Still, Hunter Biden said his father has not withdrawn from public life, noting that the former president remains “out there” and continues to speak on the issues he cares about most.
“He’s still doing his thing,” he said. “He so believes in this country.”
The former president will publish a memoir, “Promise Me, America,” after the midterm elections.
