Joe Biden’s Prostate Cancer

Joe Biden’s Prostate Cancer

My doctors are obviously better than Joe Biden’s. The former president’s diagnosis of stage 4 prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bone strikes to the very souls of most of us men. Black men are advised to start screening for prostate cancer at age 45 while it is age 50 for whites, unless there is a family history of the cancer. The traditional test was a digital rectal inspection of the prostate which was the reason many men were reluctant to be tested. Those exams were replaced by PSA tests around 2019 and recommended every two or three years. However, the PSA tests become optional after the age of 70 due to increased false positives. The last publicized PSA test for Biden was in 2014 when he was 72 years old. But surely being president, his doctors must have tested him again and again for prostate cancer. Didn’t they? The irony is that in 2023, Biden asked the congress to fund $2.8 billion for cancer initiatives called “Cancer Moonshot” which included cancer screenings. Recall that Biden’s son Beau died from brain cancer – although Biden kept saying he died in Iraq – and that Biden and his wife Jill both had lesions removed that were basil cell carcinoma. So why didn’t his doctors detect it? Prostate cancer is slow growing so it is likely that Biden had the cancer throughout his term. Had he been reelected he would have had to resign leaving Kamala Harris as president. But the question remains, how did his cancer go undetected? In my case,

During my annual physical in January 2012, my PSA levels had ticked up. My doctor said that it was still within the normal range and probably not a concern but he wanted me to come back for a retest in a month. A month later, it had increased a bit more but still not in the danger range. Yet my doctor said that I should go to a urologist just to be certain. I went in March 2012. My urologist was a renowned former president of his national association. He performed a biopsy which revealed cancer in one region of the prostate. He told me that it was slow growing and that we would monitor it with periodic PSA tests and another biopsy when the prostate healed. I had that biopsy scheduled one year later in March 2013. Meanwhile, my PSA levels had decreased prompting me to wonder if the additional biopsy was necessary. My urologist said that PSA results were not always reliable. The new biopsy revealed that the cancer had spread but was still within the prostate. The doctor said that we had to now become more aggressive in my treatment. He offered me the alternatives: regular surgery, seed therapy, proton treatment or robotic surgery. After considerable research I opted for the robotic surgery performed by another surgeon. 

When I was introduced to the new doctor I said “You cannot be my surgeon.” He said “Why not? I have the most experience, the highest certification and training!” I said, “How old are you?” “When I came to UT as a tenured full professor, you were in middle school. I don’t have anyone operate on me who can’t name the Supremes.” He said “Diana Ross?” and I said “Okay, you can be my surgeon.” The operation was in May 2013, more that one year from the original diagnosis. Afterwards, when he went to tell my other half that the surgery was a success and no other cancer was detected, she said “Do you know the other Supremes?” and he said “Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson.” I then had follow up exams and tests until 2017 and finally declared cancer free.

Surely if I had this level of care, then something is amiss with the treatment of Joe Biden. The president of the United States has first rate doctors – so we are told – and we are given reports of his physical condition on a regular basis. Biden’s cancer reveal throws into question the veracity of the doctor’s reports of the president’s condition. To my knowledge every presidential doctor’s report has been almost effusive in their statements of the president’s health. Was this a cover up? Are they lying to us? Apparently so.

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