Biden completes radiation treatment for prostate cancer at Penn
Published in News & Features
Former President Joe Biden completed a round of radiation therapy at a Penn Medicine cancer center in Philadelphia Monday as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, according to a family representative.
Biden, 82, announced in May that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease that had spread to his bones.
A spokesperson for the Bidens, Kelly Scully, said that following his treatment over the course of several weeks, Biden “rang the bell” at Penn, alongside his wife, Jill Biden, his daughter Ashley Biden and grandchildren, Hunter and Finnegan.
Ringing the bell at Penn typically signifies that a patient has completed cancer treatment, according to the health system.
But Biden has not yet made a statement on his treatment, and it wasn’t immediately clear if the former president would need additional treatment.
Ashley Biden posted a story on her Instagram of the bell-ringing moment alongside a woman who Scully confirmed was Biden’s doctor at Penn. Another photo showed the doctor with a bouquet of flowers standing with Biden.
“Dad has been so damn brave throughout his treatment,” Ashley Biden wrote in her post. “Grateful.”
A Penn spokesperson directed questions to the Biden family.
Prostate cancer is among the most common forms of cancer in men. It affects the prostate, a walnut-sized gland located beneath the bladder.
The prostate naturally grows as the body ages, but when cells begin growing too quickly, a tumor can form.
Prostate cancer is graded on a scale of six to 10, called a Gleason score.
A high Gleason score means the cancer is growing quickly and may have already spread to other parts of the body.
Biden’s cancer was graded a nine on the Gleason scale.
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