Former President Joe Biden said on Nov. 8 that he would limit the promotional events for his upcoming memoir due to his cancer treatment.
Biden, 83, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025, four months after his presidency ended. The cancer had already spread to his bones.
In a lengthy social media post, Biden said that while his doctors continue to be encouraged by his response to the treatment, the illness was slowing him down.
“Some days are better than others. It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down,” the former president wrote in a post on X.
“What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves.”
His memoir, titled “Promise Me, America,” was slated for release on Nov. 17. Biden said the book would reflect his four years as president, including the challenges facing the nation during his tenure, the decisions he made and the reasoning behind them.
Biden said he was diagnosed with the disease while writing the book.
The former president underwent radiation and hormone treatments in October 2025.
His son, Hunter Biden, told the BBC in August that his father’s cancer has spread to other parts of his body, describing it as a “very debilitating” situation.
“It’s really hard … and it’s really sad to watch,” he said in the interview. “The only thing that I say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more.”
Biden also underwent surgery in September 2025 to remove a cancerous skin lesion from his forehead, according to his office. In 2023, he had a basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer, removed from his chest while in office.
In September this year, Biden marked Prostate Awareness Month by sharing a health update and advising people to get screened for early detection.
“By the time we found it, it had already spread to my bones. When prostate cancer is caught early, the five-year survival is close to 100%. So have the conversation with your doctor. Don’t put it off,” he wrote on X.
Cancer has also impacted other members of the Biden family.
Former First Lady Jill Biden had a basal cell carcinoma surgically removed from above her right eye, and a second basal cell carcinoma removed from the left side of her chest in early 2023.
The former president’s other son, Beau Biden, died in 2015 following a battle with brain cancer. Biden has routinely linked his elder son’s brain tumor to exposure to toxic burn pits during military deployments over the years.
Biden had initially launched a reelection campaign in 2024 but later withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Harris subsequently lost the 2024 election to Republican candidate and then-former President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term.
Ryan Morgan and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
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