Former President Biden expressed gratitude Monday morning for the outpouring of support following the news of his prostate cancer diagnosis over the weekend.
“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” Biden, 82, wrote Monday morning in a post on the social media platform X, along with a photo of him, former first lady Jill Biden and their cat, Willow.
“Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
A Biden spokesperson confirmed on Sunday that the former president has an aggressive form of prostate cancer that was discovered Friday “after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” adding that it has spread to his bones.
As news of his cancer diagnosis spread, Biden’s allies and rivals posted well wishes and tributes across social media.
President Trump, who Biden beat in the 2020 election, wrote on Truth Social: “Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”
Former President Obama, whom Biden served as vice president under for eight years, voiced confidence in Biden’s “trademark resolve and grace.”
“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace,” Obama wrote in a post on X.
Biden, who spent decades in elected office before he left the White House in January after abruptly calling off his reelection campaign, had recently begun to step back into the spotlight with high-profile interviews on the BBC and ABC’s “The View.”
Meanwhile, a new book due out this week has thrust him back into the news with questions about his health while he was in office and initial decision to run for another term.
Biden’s oldest son, Beau Biden, who the former president hoped would one day be elected to the White House, died at 46 a decade ago from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Updated at 8:25 a.m. EDT
