For some time now, Joe Biden has been associated with an intensely personal fight against cancer. Now, that battle has taken on an entirely different meaning for his family, and a rare glimpse behind closed doors has made the reality feel more sobering than any official statement could.
Before getting to Hunter Biden’s striking words, the seriousness of his father’s diagnosis helps put his recent comments into perspective.
In May 2025, Joe Biden’s personal office announced that the former president had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer after he was evaluated for increasing urinary symptoms and a then-newly discovered prostate nodule.
Joe Biden’s prostate cancer was publicly disclosed in May 2025, with his office saying the aggressive disease had metastasized to his bones. Hunter later revealed that the cancer had spread “further” and described his father’s condition as “very painful” and debilitating. | Source: Getty Images
According to a CNN report on Joe’s diagnosis, his cancer was characterized by a Gleason score of 9, Grade Group 5, and had metastasized to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the statement from the 83-year-old’s office said. At the time, Joe and his family were reviewing treatment options with his physicians.
Joe subsequently addressed the news himself in a post on X, writing, “Cancer touches us all.” He added that he and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, “have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
Cancer Has Long Been Deeply Personal for the Biden Family
The diagnosis carried another deeply personal layer for the Biden family, because Joe’s son Beau Biden, an Iraq War veteran and former Delaware attorney general, died from brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46. Cancer had also become a major part of Joe’s public work long before his own diagnosis.
In 2016, then-President Barack Obama asked Joe, who was vice president at the time, to lead a White House task force focused on curing cancer. Joe later revived that effort as president in 2022 through the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative, setting a goal of reducing the cancer death rate by at least 50% over 25 years.
Hunter Biden described his father as the “rock” of their family and praised him as a devoted father, husband and grandfather. His remarks carried added weight for a family that previously lost Beau Biden to brain cancer in 2015. | Source: Getty Images
Questions Soon Emerged About How Long Joe Biden May Have Been Ill
Yet as details about Joe’s own illness emerged, questions also surfaced about how long the disease may have been present. Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, vice provost and oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, was quoted as saying that Joe “had it while he was president.”
“He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021,” the doctor said, adding, “He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days.” Meanwhile, Jill has publicly acknowledged that her husband’s condition has affected his daily life.
Questions about the timing of Biden’s diagnosis emerged after Oncologist Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel said he likely had the disease while he was still president. Emanuel suggested the cancer may have been present as early as the beginning of Biden’s presidency in 2021. | Source: Getty Images
As recounted in a Fox News report about Joe’s health and Hunter’s subsequent remarks, Jill previously told the hosts of “The View” that the former president was maintaining his schedule but had noticeably slowed down.
“I mean, Stage 4 cancer is — and he’s 83 — so, I think the mix of everything and the medications that he’s taken has made life a little more difficult these days,” she said in June.
Those comments painted a sobering picture, but it was Hunter’s recent description of his father that gave viewers an even more intimate — and painful — sense of what the family is experiencing.
Jill Biden previously acknowledged that cancer and its treatment had made daily life more difficult for her husband, saying he had “slowed down.” Hunter’s later comments offered an even more sobering update. | Source: Getty Images
Hunter Biden Recently Shared a Sorrowful Update on His Father
During a BBC Politics and BBC News interview with Paddy O’Connell, Hunter was asked directly how the family has been dealing with Joe’s diagnosis. “It’s really tough, Paddy,” Hunter replied. “That’s the real answer.”
Hunter then described his father as the center of the Biden family. “Not just because of who he is as the public person, but completely because of who he is to each one of us, down to his grandchildren and his great-grandchild,” Joe’s son said.
“He is our rock. He has been there for each one of us in a way that is hard for me to even possibly articulate and explain,” Hunter further divulged.
He went on to separate political opinions about his father from the man he knows privately. “And whatever you think about his politics or the decisions that he made, I can tell you this,” Hunter said. “He’s the best father, the best husband, the best grandfather of anyone that I’ve ever read about, heard about, or even seen in a movie.”
Then came the comment that made the conversation noticeably more somber. “And so it’s really hard, Patty, and it’s really sad to watch,” Hunter shared.
One viewer said the news is “very sad” and offered a prayer for Biden as concern over his condition spread online. The reaction reflected the wave of sympathy that followed Hunter Biden’s unusually candid comments about his father’s health. | Source: YouTube/ABC News
What followed was his clearest description of his father’s current condition:
“And the only thing that I say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more because it’s not good.“
Hunter then said the disease had progressed beyond what many people may have realized: “The cancer has spread. It’s metastasised into his bones and further.” He continued, “It’s very painful. And it’s very debilitating in many respects. But he’s still out there.”
That contrast — between what Hunter described as serious pain and his father’s determination to remain active — became the emotional core of his answer. “He’s still doing this thing that he so believes in this country,” Hunter concluded. “And as long as he’s alive, I promise you he’s going to continue to fight.”
Viewers Reacted with Sympathy, Prayer, and Some Skepticism
Hunter’s remarks quickly prompted emotional responses online, with many viewers focusing on the image of Joe continuing to push forward despite what his son described as a painful and debilitating illness.
In a section of a YouTube discussion of the news, one viewer wrote, “When cancer metastasizes is [sic] into your bones, that’s pretty much late stage. My heart goes out to President Biden. I wish him the best.”
Biden’s diagnosis followed medical evaluation for increasing urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule, with his office later confirming that the cancer had already spread to his bones. The disclosure sparked widespread concern about the seriousness of the disease and what treatment could mean for him. | Source: Getty Images
Another commenter reacted, “😮 Aw geez. 😢 This is very sad, The man is suffering, Lord don’t let him suffer to long. Show him your grace and mercy. As is your will. Amen [sic].”
However, not every reaction was purely sympathetic. One person questioned the timing of the diagnosis, penning, “How convienant they just discovered it a few months after he left office huh? Nobody believes that. He was obviously visably sick early into his presidency and should have left office to focus on his health [sic].”
Cancer has been a defining personal and public issue for Biden for years, especially after the death of his son Beau in 2015. That history helped shape his “Cancer Moonshot” initiative, which aimed to dramatically reduce cancer deaths in the United States. | Source: Getty Images
On the other hand, other reactions shared in the comment section of an Instagram post about Joe’s condition were overwhelmingly focused on compassion.
One spectator expressed, “I wish he would’ve gotten to enjoy some more time after his presidency 😢,” while another commenter said, “If you know metastatic cancer [sic] this was inevitable. I thought he was a great statesman and wouldn’t wish this suffering upon anyone. 🙏🙏🙏.”
Someone else shared a message of support from Canada, “Such strength, class and bravery. May Biden be surrounded with love from his family and friends in this time. Wishing him peace and to be pain free [sic]. Love from Canada 🇨🇦.”
The online reaction may include everything from sadness and prayer to questions about when Joe’s illness began, but Hunter’s own words were intensely personal rather than political. His description of Joe Biden as the family’s “rock” made clear just how difficult the diagnosis has been for those closest to him.
And perhaps the most telling detail was not simply that Hunter said his father is in pain; it was that he wishes his father would admit it more often.
For a family that has already endured the loss of Beau to cancer, Hunter’s remarks made the former president’s current battle feel especially poignant. And amid all the commentary surrounding Joe’s health, Hunter’s final message was straightforward: his father is still fighting.
