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Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked

The former president shared an update on his health during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
WTVR CBS 6 News Richmond

What this story says

  • Former President Joe Biden announced that radiation treatment for his prostate cancer "worked as intended."
  • Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025.
  • His son, Hunter Biden, stated in August that the cancer had spread to his bones and was causing pain.
  • The former president used Prostate Cancer Awareness Month to encourage men to get screened.

Who covered it

Left 10%(8)Centre 56%(36)Right 34%(26)

Percentages are shares of the 70 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 30 of the 100 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

45/100

Hype

41/100

100 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 8 of the 70 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

Former President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that radiation treatment for his prostate cancer had "worked as intended." He was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease in May 2025. Biden, 83, did not provide further details on his prognosis or future treatment plans. He thanked those who had sent well wishes.

Biden's son, Hunter Biden, stated in August that the former president's cancer had spread to his bones and was causing significant pain. Joe Biden used Prostate Cancer Awareness Month to urge men to discuss screening with their doctors and not delay check-ups.

Disagreement on diagnosis timing

Sources differ on when Joe Biden's prostate cancer was diagnosed. WTVR, dailymail.com, CNN Brasil, and The Gateway Pundit state the diagnosis occurred in May 2025. However, VINnews reports that Biden disclosed on Tuesday that his prostate cancer had already spread to his bones when it was diagnosed last spring.

What the coverage left out

None of the centre or right-rated reports printed below mention the specific date in May 2025 when Joe Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer, nor do they include the specific month in August when Hunter Biden stated his father's cancer had spread to his bones.

Coverage settled. We checked this 74 times and stopped on 14 Sept 2026, 19:46. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

8 rated outlets

  • The left-rated outlets reported that Joe Biden stated his radiation treatment for prostate cancer was successful. Both OK! Magazine and USA Today mentioned he is continuing to work on his memoir.
  • OK! Magazine detailed Biden's stage four prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025, noting it had spread to his bones. The report included Biden's encouragement for men to discuss early detection with their doctors.
  • This report also carried comments from Biden's son, Hunter, describing the former president's condition as 'very painful' and 'very debilitating'.

Centre

36 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated outlets reported that Joe Biden stated his prostate cancer radiation treatment had "worked as intended". Two full reports and ten digests covered this update, which Biden gave on Tuesday.
  • The reports mentioned Biden was diagnosed in May 2025 with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. He said the treatment allowed him to continue working on projects, including an upcoming memoir.
  • The full reports from WTVR and KBZK included Biden's statement thanking people for their prayers. They also noted his son Hunter's August comments about the cancer spreading and causing pain.

Right

26 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports highlighted Joe Biden's announcement about his cancer treatment working as intended, often framing it as a "major update" or "breaking news." These outlets also included Biden's call for men to get screened. Some right-rated reports mentioned Hunter Biden's description of the cancer as "painful and debilitating." VINnews reported that Biden disclosed his prostate cancer had spread to his bones when diagnosed last spring.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked?
Of the 70 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 10% are rated left, 56% are rated centre, 34% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 100. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 70 rated outlets on this story, 10% are rated left, 56% are rated centre, 34% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked biased?
Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked is one event reported by 100 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Joe Biden says prostate cancer radiation treatment worked?
100 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What did Joe Biden say about his prostate cancer treatment?
Former President Joe Biden stated that the radiation treatment he received for prostate cancer "worked as intended." He shared this update on Tuesday and used the occasion of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month to encourage men to get screened.
When was Joe Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer?
Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025, according to multiple reports. One report stated that Biden disclosed the cancer had spread to his bones when diagnosed last spring.
Did Joe Biden's cancer spread?
Yes, according to his son Hunter Biden, who stated in August that the former president's cancer had spread to his bones and was causing significant pain. Joe Biden himself has stated his radiation treatment worked as intended.

Read it at the source

100 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

8

Centre

36
Show 28 more

Right

26
Show 18 more

Not rated

30
Show 22 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Joe Biden Prostate Cancer Update | MediaBias News