Health Issues Joe Biden Has Dealt With Over The Years

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There have been several red flags where Former President Joe Biden's health is concerned, and while interest in his wellbeing skyrocketed during his presidency, Biden has dealt with several ailments throughout his political career more generally, too. There's every chance that White House officials, at least in some capacity, covered up the true state of his health while he was in office — Biden's heartbreaking health diagnosis in May 2025 confirmed as much. The former president reportedly has an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones. The stage raised eyebrows, with doctors pointing out that prostate cancer is usually diagnosed long before it becomes this aggressive. Others argued that men Biden's age aren't usually tested for the cancer and can be asymptomatic, however.

Cancer is hardly the only health issue he has had to face. During the former leader's time in office, he also dealt with spondylosis, a condition that affects the spine and is, simply put, the result of aging bones and cartilage. This is, in part, what caused Biden's stiff gait. He was also diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a nerve condition that can desensitize the patient to cold and hot temperatures and causes pain and numbness. Eagle-eyed pundits also spotted marks on Biden's face that indicated he wore a CPAP device (he was later confirmed to have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea). 

Additionally, Biden also suffered an irregular heart rate. And sadly, the former president's prostate cancer diagnosis wasn't his first experience with the deadly disease either. In 2023, he was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. It was removed, but later returned. In September 2025, reports surfaced that the Democratic politician had undergone Mohs surgery to remove cancerous cells from his forehead.

Since retaking office in 2025, there have been glaringly obvious signs that President Donald Trump's health seems to be in decline — much like there were with his predecessor. But Former President Joe Biden was no stranger to juggling health issues and politics. He'd already done that all the way back in 1988, when the Democrat first made a bid for the White House. Before dropping out of the race after facing allegations of plagiarizing parts of his speeches, Biden was dealing with debilitating head and neck pain, taking as many as 10 Tylenols every 24 hours. He was told he had a pinched nerve, but after passing out in his hotel room in agony, he knew something was wrong and got a check-up, which revealed that he had a dangerous brain aneurysm.

Biden needed surgery, but it was risky. In her memoir, "Where the Light Enters," his wife Jill Biden recalled how doctors warned her that her husband might not survive the surgery, and if he did, he might not be the same man. "It was even more likely Joe would have permanent brain damage if he survived. And if any part of his brain would be adversely affected, it would be the area that governed speech," she penned. Thankfully, he emerged mostly unscathed. 

In fact, the only visible side effect was temporary paralysis in Biden's cheeks and forehead. While making his first public appearance since his surgery, the then-senator shared that he believed he had been offered a "second chance in life," per Delaware Online. Likewise, in his own memoir "Promises to Keep," the former president reflected on the lessons he learned from the experience, professing, "The only things that are truly urgent are matters of life and death."