Joe Biden’s cancer has spread, son Hunter reveals

Why Biden's health resonates in Ireland

Speaking to BBC Newsnight in an interview RTÉ reported Hunter saying the disease had "metastasised into his bones and further", despite ongoing treatment.

Biden, 83, disclosed in May 2025, four months after leaving office as the oldest sitting US president, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones.

He began radiation and hormone therapy, and only last month described the treatment as going "really well" while announcing an upcoming memoir.

His son's account paints a more difficult picture.

"It's very painful, and it's very debilitating in many respects, but he's still out there. He's still doing his thing... he so believes in this country," said the former President's son.

Hunter added that it was "really, really hard, and it's really sad to watch".

For many in Ireland, where Biden has long celebrated his Irish ancestry, the update will land hard.

It comes little more than a year after he ended his re-election bid following a difficult debate against Donald Trump, whose own Irish links include his visit to Doonbeg, clearing the way for Mr Trump's defeat of Kamala Harris.