Joe Biden Admits Cancer Is Slowing Him Down Ahead of Memoir Release

Former President Joe Biden has shared a candid look at how his ongoing fight with prostate cancer is shaping his everyday life, saying some days feel better than others. The 83 year old posted the update on X over the weekend as he gets ready for the release of his presidential memoir Promise Me, America on November 17.

Biden explained that doctors diagnosed him with the disease while he was still writing the book. He noted that his medical team remains encouraged by the way he has responded to treatment so far, and that the prayers and kind messages from people across the country have meant more to him, his wife Jill, and their family than he can put into words.

At the same time he was open about the real impact the illness continues to have. Some days are better than others, he wrote. It has not stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down. Because of that he will not be able to take part in as many conversations about the book as he had hoped, though he is confident the words on the page will speak for themselves.

The memoir covers his four years in the White House from 2021 to 2025. Biden has described it as a record of the challenges his administration faced, the decisions he made and the reasons behind them, along with his continued faith in the American people. He closed the post by recalling a lesson from his father. Champ, when you get knocked down, get up. He called it a good lesson for himself and for the country.

Biden first announced the diagnosis in May 2025, a few months after leaving office. Doctors found a nodule on his prostate after he began experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. His office said at the time that it was an aggressive form of the cancer that had already spread to his bones, though it appeared hormone sensitive and could be managed effectively. He finished a course of radiation treatment in October 2025.

In August his son Hunter offered a rare public window into his father’s condition during an interview with the BBC. Hunter said the cancer had spread into his bones and further and that it was very painful for his father. He added that it was sad to watch and that he wished his dad would complain more.

The timing of the update is especially emotional for the family. Biden, the oldest living former president, turns 84 on November 20, just three days after the memoir comes out. Cancer has already brought deep loss to the Bidens. Their son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.