A doctor on MSNBC’s Morning Joe left hosts stunned when he suggested that former President Joe Biden may have had prostate cancer for as long as 10 years.
“He’s had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading,” said Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist who worked with Biden in his transition team. “He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days.”
Host Joe Scarborough was left visibly shocked.
“You said that some men do not get prostate exams after the age of 70, but most men aren’t president of the United States,” Scarborough said.
Biden’s cancer is at level nine on the Gleason scale, with “metastasis to the bone,” his office said. The metastasis is evidence that the cancer has been present for quite some time, Emanuel said. The Gleason scale is a grading system to determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer. It goes up to 10.
“It’s a little surprising. I looked back at the records, and there’s no evidence that when he got his health status and the medical records were released, that he had a prostate-specific antigen,” Emanuel said.
This screening, which tests for cancer, involves a blood test that measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen produced by the prostate gland in a man’s blood.
“He had it [cancer] while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021. Yes, I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that,” he went on.
Emanuel, the brother of former Chicago Mayor and White House Chief of Staff under former President Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, said it is possible that Biden opted against being tested and only found the cancer recently as a result. He added, however, that his doctors would have pushed back at this.
“Maybe President Biden decided he didn’t want the test. Many men do decide they don’t want a PSA, but this is also aggressive,” he explained. “It is a little surprising that the doctor didn’t take it. And if he took it and didn’t report it, and it was elevated, that is another case of doctors not being straightforward with us.”
A shocked Scarborough at one point interrupted the doctor to ask him to confirm that what he was saying was his medical opinion or mere speculation.
“If he has had prostate cancer that has spread to the bone, then he most certainly had it when he was president of the United States?” the host asked.
Emanuel was unequivocal in his answer. “Oh yeah. He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days. He had it while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021. Yes, I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that.”
Scarborough asked Emanuel whether he would have pushed Biden to take an antigen test if he were his physician given his position in government.
“Yeah, but certainly—especially—if you’re not even talking about living another 10 years, we’re talking about the decision to run another four years. Certainly, this would be a test that would need to be taken?” the host asked quizzically.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski asked if it is possible for the test to miss cancer. Emanuel said that while the answer is technically yes, but that scenario is unlikely because the test is annual, and Biden’s cancer is so advanced.
“Now, you might test it again a few months later and see if the number has gone up or gone down, that you’ve got an aberrant reading for one reason or another,” he added. “But that doesn’t seem likely in this situation.”
Some MAGA figures have alleged that there was a cover-up around Biden’s declining health while he was in office. Comments from health professionals suggest that this may have been the case.
Biden’s cancer could have been detected early using routine blood tests recommended for all men over 50, but it is not known if he was screened during his presidency. Dr. Stephen Quay, a physician and cancer expert, said not screening him would constitute “malpractice.”
“It is highly likely he was carrying a diagnosis of prostate cancer throughout his White House tenure and the American people were uninformed,” he added, as reported by The Telegraph.
Howie Forman, a professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, public health (health policy), management, and economics at Yale University, said that it is “inconceivable” that his cancer was not being monitored before he left the White House.
Prof Karol Sikora, the former director of the World Health Organisation Cancer programme, said the late revelation of Biden’s diagnosis could point to a “cover-up by his doctors,” but suggested that it was more likely down to a “rapid-growing cancer.”
Urologist Dr David Shusterman told News Nation on Sunday: “It’s unusual to hear that someone has prostate cancer when they’re annually being followed up. The fact that we find it at a Gleason 9 is unheard of.”
He added that the 82-year-old would have had “state-of-the-art care.”
In February 2024, Mr Biden’s long-time physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, said there were “no new concerns” with the president.
Biden’s team has been contacted for comment.
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