Hunter Biden Says Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Further
A deeply personal interview has provided a troubling new glimpse into the health challenges facing a former president as his family continues to rally around him.
His son became emotional while discussing the situation, describing what the family has been witnessing behind closed doors and acknowledging that the experience has been difficult to watch.
Former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread further through his body and is causing significant pain, according to his son Hunter Biden, who discussed his 83-year-old father’s condition during an interview with BBC Newsnight published Friday.
“The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter Biden told interviewer Paddy O’Connell.
“It’s really sad to watch,” he added.
Hunter described the disease as “very painful” and “very debilitating” as his father continues undergoing treatment.
“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 said.
Biden announced in May 2025, several months after leaving the White House, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had already metastasized to his bones.
His office said at the time that the cancer appeared to be “hormone-sensitive,” which would allow doctors to pursue treatments aimed at managing the disease.
Despite the progression described by Hunter, he said his father remains active and continues following public affairs.
“He’s still doing his thing,” Hunter said. “He so believes in this country.”
Former first lady Jill Biden offered a similar assessment during a June appearance on “The View,” acknowledging that things had “slowed down” for her husband since his diagnosis while saying he remained busy.
Hunter called his father the “best father, the best husband, the best grandfather” and said the former president remains at the “center of our family.”
The interview also turned to Hunter’s years-long battle with drug addiction and the toll he believes it took on his father.
When O’Connell asked whether his addiction had made Joe Biden’s life and health worse, Hunter answered, “Of course I did.”
“That’s what addiction does,” Hunter said.
Hunter said his struggles affected Jill Biden, his children, other relatives and personal relationships, “but, in particular, to my dad, who never let go.”
“My dad never let me off the hook,” Hunter said, while recalling that his father also made clear that “when I was ready to come back, the door was open.”
“That is the singular thing that saved me — that the door was left open,” he said.
Hunter also rejected the idea that families must necessarily allow someone suffering from addiction to reach “rock bottom.”
“A lot of people always say that you’ve got to let an addict hit rock-bottom,” Hunter said, adding that people he knew who reached that point were “either dead or in jail.”
Hunter’s addiction, including his use of crack cocaine, has been publicly documented for years and was discussed extensively in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things.”
The struggle came after another devastating chapter for the Biden family when Joe Biden’s eldest son, Beau Biden, died from brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.
“Unconditional love doesn’t mean love without consequences,” Hunter said. “It doesn’t mean love without accountability.”
Hunter also reflected on his father’s June 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, a performance that intensified questions about Biden’s age and fitness and contributed to mounting Democratic pressure for him to abandon his reelection campaign.
“I knew something was wrong,” Hunter said, describing himself as “shocked” while watching the debate from California, The Hill reported.
Biden ultimately withdrew from the presidential race on July 21, 2024, and has maintained a relatively limited public profile since leaving office, although he has occasionally delivered political speeches and is preparing a memoir expected around the November midterm elections.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
