Former President Joe Biden, 83, smiled beside daughter Ashley in a September selfie as family members described his bone-metastasized prostate cancer as painful, debilitating, and permanent.
Ashley Biden included the photo in an Instagram September roundup, a glimpse of the former president that AOL relayed from RadarOnline’s account of the post.
The pair appeared together under her caption, “FALLing in love with life again. September 2026.” Biden wore a blue suit jacket, matching tie, white button-up, and an American flag pin. Ashley, 45, wore a golden vest over a black top, a gold statement necklace, oversized sunglasses, and hoop earrings, with her long brunette hair down.
The image landed more than a year after his staff publicly detailed a serious prostate cancer diagnosis, and after his wife and son spoke bluntly about pain, spread to the bone, and a disease he will not fully leave behind.
Shortly after Biden left the Oval Office, his staff said he had been seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the staff statement said. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.”
A Gleason score of 9 sits at the high end of the scale doctors use to judge how abnormal prostate cancer cells look and how likely they are to grow and spread. Staff described the cancer as hormone-sensitive, meaning hormone-based treatment can still be used to manage it.
Biden later posted his own message of thanks on Instagram.
“Cancer touches us all,” he wrote. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
Jill Biden, speaking on “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa,” did not soft-pedal the stage of the disease.
"He’s doing okay. When we got out, he was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. And, for anyone who’s listening, really, that diagnosis, you can be cured, and you can go through radiation or whatever. You can be cured, and you’ll be fine,"
She then drew the line the public often misses when celebrities talk about beating cancer.
"Unfortunately for Joe, it metastasized to his bones. Which means that he will forever live with cancer."
Hunter Biden, in a BBC interview, underscored how far the disease had moved and what it looks like up close.
"The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,"
He added:
"It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many respects. It’s really hard. It’s really sad to watch."
Those are not campaign slogans. They are family members describing stage-four disease in the bone, ongoing pain, and a condition that management does not erase.
Comments under Ashley’s roundup leaned warm and personal. One wrote, “Missing #46 President Biden! Praying for him always!” Another said, “Looking good there, Ashley, love the pictures of your dad, and your brother in the background, hope you have a great fall.” Others added, “You and President Biden look incredible, as always!” and “We love your dad so much.”
The selfie itself does not reverse the medical record staff and the family already put on the record. It shows a father and daughter posing in September 2026 while the same household has already told the country the cancer reached the bones, hurts, and will remain part of his life.
Public life ends. Biology does not take press cues. When a former president’s own family says the disease is painful, metastatic, and permanent, a smiling selfie is a moment, not a rebuttal.
