Former US president Joe Biden is undergoing radiation and hormone therapy to fight prostate cancer that was revealed in May, a spokesperson said Saturday.

“As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said.

In May, the 82-year-old ex-president’s office announced that Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that spread to his bones after he experienced urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found.

“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” Biden, whose son Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015, said at the time in a post on X. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.“

Biden’s health had been in the spotlight due to a new book detailing his declining health as he campaigned last year for a second presidential term against Donald Trump.

In July 2024, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race after a disastrous debate performance against Trump and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris for the presidency. She went on to lose to Trump, who began his second term in January.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, according to the American Cancer Society. It is particularly common in the elderly — around 80 per cent of men over 80 have some cancerous cells in their prostate gland, research has estimated.

While it is highly treatable if discovered early, it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, the organisation said. Hormone therapy is a common treatment that can shrink tumours and slow cancer growth, but it is not a cure.

Trump, 79, the oldest person ever elected president, underwent his second medical checkup of the year on Friday and his doctor declared him to be in “excellent overall health“.