The former president and his battle against a post-presidential diagnosis
It seems that Joe Biden’s post-presidential life doesn’t just include writing memoirs and giving expensive speeches. Oh no. The 82-year-old gentleman has decided to confront his aggressive prostate cancer with a good dose of radiotherapy, because what better way to enjoy retirement than with regular sessions of oncological treatment? On Monday, the former president completed a round of radiotherapy at the prestigious Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology in Philadelphia, because if you are going to fight a disease, it should be in an establishment with an impressive name, right?
Spokesperson Kelly Scully was in charge of informing the world about this fascinating chapter in Biden’s life. One can almost imagine the press briefing: “Yes, the former president spent the morning being bombarded with controlled radiation. Next question.” The normality with which something so serious is communicated is, to say the least, admirable. Or maybe it’s the new standard for former world leaders: first rule a country, then star in your own medical drama.
A diagnosis that came… just in time for retirement
It turns out that Biden’s prostate cancer was not considered enough to appear during his presidency. No, gentlemen. He waited patiently for the Democrat to leave the White House in January to make his grand appearance. How thoughtful of the cancer cells, showing that impeccable timing that many political advisors would envy.
The former president’s post-presidential office announced this particularly inconvenient diagnosis in May, revealing that the disease had spread to the bones. Because, of course, why settle for the prostate when you can have cancer with expansion plans more ambitious than some government programs? The diagnosis came after Biden reported urinary symptoms, because in modern politics even the most intimate bodily functions end up being the subject of official communication.
One wonders: At what exact moment did the Biden team decide that “urinary symptoms” was information the world needed to know? Was there debate? Did someone suggest “maybe we could keep this private” and were overwhelmed by arguments about transparency? Public life has certainly reached new levels of medical revelation.
The political context: because nothing is just health when you are a former president
We cannot ignore the delicious political context that surrounds this situation. Biden left office six months after abandoning his re-election aspirations, followed by what analysts gently call a “disastrous performance” in a debate against Donald Trump. By “disastrous” we mean it probably made viewers seriously consider changing the channel to watch paint drying.
Concerns about his age, health and mental capacity had become a favorite topic of conversation in the corridors of power. And now, ironically, we have confirmation that he was indeed facing a significant health problem, although not exactly the kind his critics imagined. Isn’t it fascinating how reality sometimes surpasses the wildest political speculation?
Prostate cancer is serious, of course. But one can’t help but notice the bureaucratic poetry of a president being diagnosed with prostate problems just as his term ended. Any metaphor about the end of the ability to “fertilize” political change? Let’s not go deeper into that analogy.
As Biden receives his radiation therapy in Philadelphia, the rest of us are wondering: Will this be the new normal for octogenarian former presidents? Will we see more former leaders openly sharing their cancer treatments? Will this become an unspoken competition over who faces their health problems with more dignity? The possibilities are as infinite as they are absurd.
The truth is that the health of political figures has always been a topic of public interest, but usually disguised by euphemisms and evasion. Biden’s candor about prostate cancer represents an interesting, if perhaps uncomfortable, shift. After all, do we really need to visualize our former leaders on the radiotherapy table? Medical transparency has limits that we probably didn’t know existed until now.
Beyond sarcasm, which is our favorite defense mechanism to process uncomfortable news, we must recognize the harshness of facing such an illness at any age, and especially in the final stages of a career as demanding as the American presidency. Cancer does not discriminate between presidents and ordinary citizens, although the former undoubtedly receive better medical care than the rest of us.
So here’s to Joe Biden, who would probably prefer to be home enjoying his well-deserved retirement rather than undergoing radiation therapy. Life, like politics, has a peculiar sense of humor. And if there is one thing we can learn from all this, it is that even the most powerful men on the planet are not immune to the whims of the human body.
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