Cancer Slows Biden: Fewer Talks for New MemoirHealth

“Some days are better than others. It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down,” he wrote. “What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves.”

He added that his doctors remain encouraged by how he has responded to treatment, and thanked people for their prayers and kind words during his illness.

A book written through illness

Biden said he was diagnosed with cancer while he was writing the memoir, a disease he described as one known all too well to millions of Americans and their families.

He revealed the diagnosis in May 2025, less than four months after leaving the White House. His office said at the time that he had a more aggressive form of prostate cancer, but that it appeared to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.

In August, his son Hunter told the BBC that the cancer had spread further into his father’s bones, describing the situation as painful to watch.

The memoir covers Biden’s four years in the White House, including the challenges his administration faced, the decisions he made and why he made them.

“It’s about who we are as a nation. What we stand for. And America’s role in the world,” he wrote.

A milestone birthday approaches

Biden turns 84 on November 20, three days after the book reaches shelves. He is the oldest living president in American history.

The memoir, published by Little, Brown and Company, is his first full account of his presidency, covering the pandemic, the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan and his decision to end his re-election campaign in 2024.

While the illness has slowed him down, Biden made clear he still hopes readers will judge the book on its own terms, and that its message about America will speak for itself.