The news of the advanced prostate cancer of former President Joe Biden has delivered sympathy and shock – from doctors, such as me.
During my 25 years as a board-certified urological surgeon, I learned to know the pain-physical and emotional who has such a life-changing discovery on a patient and their families.
This must indeed be a very difficult time for the bidens. As a medical professional, however, it is difficult to overlook the strange circumstances and severity of the president’s diagnosis.
According to the president’s office, doctors discovered an ‘aggressive form’ of cancer after a ‘small lump’ was found on his prostate last week during a ‘routine physical examination’. But the statement suggests that the president was cancer -free before this screening and I find that very hard to believe.
Of course I have never evaluated the president, I do not know his medical history and he deserves a certain degree of privacy when it comes to his health. Yet he has now made his diagnosis public – and I have reason to suspect he had cancer Even while serving the country And present themselves as healthy and able to fulfill the duties of the office.
The last publicly available health report from Biden, from February 2024, does not report a routine screening on prostate cancer. But five years earlier, his doctor noted that the former president “never had prostate cancer,” while he treated him for an enlarged prostate.
Now his doctors report that he has a very aggressive form of the disease that has spread – or spread to his bones – although curious, such proliferation of the disease usually takes at least five years.
In addition, doctors use a method to determine the potential deadliness of cancer, called a Gleason score that rates the severity of the disease on a scale of one to 10-with a score of six as a slowly scattered cancer and 10 are the most aggressive matter.
The aggressive cancer diagnosis of Biden, which has spread to its bones, was unveiled on Sunday.
Dr. David Shusterman is a urologist and urological surgeon certified by the Council who diagnoses and treats urological cancers, including the prostate.
The Gleason score of Biden is nine.
This abrupt presentation defies every typical case that I have ever seen. In my experience, prostate cancer of this seriousness does not develop overnight. I have never even treated a patient (including those who have regularly avoided checks) whose cancer has been advanced from no detectable track to an aggressive stage.
Moreover, I find it unbelievable that cancer has never been detected by routine screening.
Doctors often start testing men for prostate cancer at the age of 50, or younger if they have a family history of cancer. It is one of the most common cancers in men and when it is detected early, it is easy to treat.
The most common form of screening is a simple blood analysis called a prostate -specific antigen (PSA) test that measures a protein produced by the prostate. If a man appears to have increased PSA levels, they can undergo a rectal exam. In the event that lesions are found on the prostate, the patient will probably have a biopsy of the abnormal tissue, because that is the only way to confirm a cancer diagnosis. If a malignant tumor is found, it is treated.
Some have suggested that President Biden, now 82, may not have received prostate screening regularly, but I also find that unlikely.
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)-a independent panel of doctors advises no PSA tests in men older than 70 years old because of the risk of overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments, but I perform these tests in patients up to 80 years old. And although USPSTF guidelines are suitable for ordinary citizens, the president of the United States is certainly extraordinary.
His health is a matter of national care. And Biden – who has also served vice -president and an American senator for decades – has had access to the best health care that the country has to offer.
There is also the possibility that Biden Prostaatcreenings rejected during his physics from the White House and chose private doctors whose findings of the public would be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that protects the privacy of patient health information. But if that was the case, the president was not candid with the audience.
It is quite possible that the cancer could have weakened its bones that contribute to his deteriorating mobility problems over the years.
Biden placed a selfie from him and his wife on Monday, Dr. Jill Biden, and thanked people for ‘lifting with love and support’ after his diagnosis.
It is also plausible that the former president has already received a kind of medical treatment for his cancer and has kept the secret, but that the treatment has not become effective since then.
His spokesperson announced that, although aggressively, the cancer of Biden seems to be “hormone sensitive, which makes effective management possible.” Biden would probably have received a synthetic hormone, called Lupron, which lowers the testosterone level and slows down the growth of the tumor.
The medicine works well – but it is only effective for two years and then the effects wear out.
Finally, if the president was really not aware of his condition, or if he chose to ignore it, that’s tragic.
It is quite possible that the cancer could have weakened its bones that contribute to his deteriorating mobility problems over the years. And unfortunately his diagnosis has a survival rate of five years between 30 and 40 percent.
Regardless of the truth of the health of the former president, we can all agree that this is deeply a pity. If a positive lesson can be derived from this news, it is that all men have to be screened early and regularly for prostate cancer.
Dr. David Shusterman is a New York-based, board-certified urologist and urological surgeon with a major career in diagnosing and treating urological cancers, including prostate, bladder and kidney cancers.
#Top #Doctor #Spots #Bombshell #missing #details #Bidens #health #files #White #House #shocking #claims #diagnosis #cancer