Hunter Biden says Joe Biden’s cancer has spread

Hunter Biden says former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread into his bones and beyond, causing pain and leaving his family to watch what he called a “very debilitating” illness as the former president continues to appear publicly.

In a televised BBC interview broadcast Friday, Hunter Biden grew emotional while discussing his father’s health.

“It’s really hard,” he said. “It’s really sad to watch.”

“The cancer has spread, it has metastasized into his bones and further,” he added. “It’s very painful, and it’s very debilitating in many respects but he’s still out there and he’s still doing his thing.”

Biden, 83, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025, months after leaving office, according to an announcement at the time from his personal office. The Biden family said in September 2025 that he had completed a course of radiation therapy and hormone treatment, though it was unclear whether he would need additional cancer care. His office also said last year that he had surgery to remove cancerous skin cells.

Former first lady Jill Biden told NBC News in June that her husband would live with cancer for the rest of his life because it had spread to his bones.

“He’s doing OK,” she told “Today” co-host Craig Melvin. “I think if he had just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, that’s one thing because that can be cured, but the fact that it metastasized to his bones, that makes it a whole different story. And so I think Joe will live with cancer till the rest of his life.”

“That diagnosis can be cured: You can go through radiation or whatever. You can be cured, and you’ll be fine,” she added. “Unfortunately for Joe, it metastasized to his bones, which means that he will forever live with cancer.”

Hunter Biden said the diagnosis has been difficult for the family and described his father as a central figure in their lives.

“He is our rock,” he told the BBC. “He has been there for each one of us in a way that is hard for me to even possibly articulate and explain.”

He said he wished his father would speak more openly about his pain.

“The only thing that I’d say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more, because it’s not good,” Hunter Biden said.

Despite the illness, Hunter Biden said the former president remains engaged in public life and continues speaking about issues he cares about. “He so believes in this country,” he said, according to The Guardian.

The Guardian also reported that Biden is set to publish a memoir, “Promise Me, America,” after the midterm elections.

The BBC interview also covered the pardon Hunter Biden received from his father shortly before Joe Biden completed his presidential term. The pardon applied to any crimes committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024. At the time, Hunter Biden was facing federal gun charges and had pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges.

Hunter Biden said Friday that the pardon was “not fair,” but added, “all I know is that I’m grateful that he did it for me.”

“It’s something that is easily criticized and for good reason,” he said. “I was the only one in the world that could have gotten what I got from the only person in the world who could give it, my father.”

Hunter Biden previously said on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast that his father’s decision to pardon him meant the former president “chose me over his legacy.”