\n Joe Biden has started radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAs part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,\u201d the spokesperson said.\n <\/p>\n
\n The news was first reported by NBC News<\/a>. A spokesperson for the former president, who turns 83 next month, did not give a timeline for the treatment. A source told CNN he began the treatment a few weeks ago.\n <\/p>\n \n Biden\u2019s personal office revealed in May that he had been diagnosed with an \u201caggressive form\u201d of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe expectation is we\u2019re going to be able to beat this,\u201d Biden told CNN<\/a> in his first comments about the diagnosis two weeks after he received it. \u201cIt\u2019s not in any organ, it\u2019s in \u2013 my bones are strong, it hadn\u2019t penetrated. So, I\u2019m feeling good.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n He added that he started a pill regimen to treat the cancer.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cProstate cancer is very common,\u201d Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist and robotic surgeon with Orlando Health and an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida\u2019s College of Medicine, who is not involved in Biden\u2019s treatment, told CNN in May. \u201cAs we get older, most men are going to have little cancer cells in them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Prostate cancers can be assigned a grade, known as a Gleason score, based on what the cells look like under a microscope. Biden\u2019s office announced in May a Gleason score of 9<\/a>, \u201cthe most aggressive form of prostate cancer,\u201d Dr. Benjamin Davies, a professor of urologic oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who is also not involved in Biden\u2019s case, told CNN at the time.\n <\/p>\n \n Besides the Gleason score, factors<\/a> like blood prostate-specific antigen levels, imaging tests and biopsy findings are important in determining how the cancer might behave and what treatment options would be best.\n <\/p>\n \n Even patients with high-risk prostate cancer \u201ccan live a pretty normal life and have a good quality of life, as long as the cancer is treated,\u201d Brahmbhatt said. That treatment is personalized to each patient and might come in several forms, such as hormone therapy, chemotherapy or radiation.\n <\/p>\n \n The fact that Biden\u2019s cancer had spread to the bone \u201cis very serious and not curable,\u201d Davies said. However, \u201cThere is some good news here in the newer hormonal and chemotherapy therapies (that have come) into this space in the past few years which have shown impressive results and extended the longevity of patients significantly.\u201d\n <\/p>\n