Joe Biden has finished a round of radiation therapy treatment, a spokesperson for the former president confirmed to CBS News.
The president originally reported a metastasized prostate cancer diagnosis in May and announced he was receiving radiation therapy earlier in October. Biden’s May diagnosis labeled him as having an aggressive, high-risk form of cancer.
Biden, 82, has undergone radiation therapy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Radiation Oncology clinic, across the state line from the president’s home in Delaware.
An Instagram story from Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, showed the former president ringing a silver bell alongside a doctor at the clinic.
“Rung the bell! Thank you to the incredible doctors, nurses, and staff at Penn Medicine. We are so grateful!” Ashley wrote alongside the video of her father.
In cancer treatment, ringing the bell symbolizes progress in a patient’s program and the end of a phase of treatment. Other photos from Ashley include Biden posing with his wife, former first lady Jill Biden, and two of their grandchildren.
“Dad has been so damn brave throughout his treatment. Grateful,” Ashley wrote on one of the images.
Radiation therapy has not been Biden’s only recent medical procedure. The former president had surgery to remove skin cancer lesions in September. His spokesperson, Kelly Scully, said he underwent Mohs surgery, a procedure used to cut away skin until no evidence of cancer remains.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, with an estimated one in eight men receiving a diagnosis during their lifetime. The form Biden has is aggressive and had spread to his bones, which makes treatment more difficult than if it were a localised cancer.
Concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health were front and center on the 2024 campaign trail, ultimately forcing the former president to drop out just three months ahead of the November election.
In the coming days, Biden is slated to receive a lifetime achievement award in Boston at the Edward M Kennedy Institute on Sunday.
