Reactions pour in from Illinois officials after Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis
ABC7 anchor Hosea Sanders gives insight on prostate cancer battle
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Reactions from politicians and officials in Chicago and Illinois poured in Sunday after former President Joe Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis was announced.
Biden's office made the announcement in a statement, saying he is facing an "aggressive" form of the disease that has spread to his bones.
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Along with statements from President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris, politicians in Illinois also shared tributes to Biden amid his cancer battle.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama shared the following statement:
"Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family. Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker shared the following statement:
"President Biden knows that when you get knocked down, you get back up and fight. I join the nation in sending strength to President Biden and his family and hope for a full recovery. We're with you in this fight, Joe."
Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton shared the following statement:
"Bryan and I are sending faith-filled prayers of healing and strength to President Biden. To the entire Biden family, I know your faith will give you strength for the journey ahead. You're in our hearts."
Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin shared the following statement:
"Praying for my friend and former colleague, Joe Biden, after hearing news of his diagnosis. Loretta and I will be keeping Joe, the entire Biden family, and the medical professionals treating him in our thoughts during this time. Continue to keep the faith, Joe."
Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth shared the following statement:
"I'm sending my thoughts to the Biden family and wishing President Biden a full and speedy recovery."
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot shared the following statement:
"President Joe Biden is a good man with a great heart who has served his country well even through times of personal tragedy. I will be praying for him as he fights for recovery from prostate cancer."
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel shared the following statement:
"As President Biden often reminds us, his father would say, 'When you get knocked down, you get back up.' Joe, we know you'll get back up and back to work on the cancer moonshot. Amy and I are rooting for you."
The initial concern with the cancer diagnosis comes with the fact that Biden is 82 years old. Medical experts told ABC7 Chicago this cancer is not curable because it has already spread to his bones, which indicates that Biden has stage 4 cancer.
Dr. Chris George, a medical director from Northwestern Medicine, said hormonal treatment will likely be the best option for the former president.
"It's not curable. If it spreads to the bones, you cannot cure the cancer. Curative therapy does not exist, but it's very treatable and controllable," Dr. George said. "I would expect his quality of life over the next year to be reasonably good. I would expect if there is any baseline frailty or cognitive disfunction. I would expect that to perhaps get worse I would worry about that. I would not expect him to die from this disease in the next year."
Dr. George explained that chemotherapy would probably not be a good option for Biden, and his age will factor in to the kind of treatment he and his family decide to go with.
"He's gonna face some choices," Dr. George said. "You can treat this with a hormonal approach entirely, which means we lower his testosterone level and that maneuver by itself is very effective controlling the cancer."
ABC7 Chicago anchor Hosea Sanders is familiar with the treatments as he has been battling prostate cancer since 2017. He's now in his third bout with the disease, which he said can take a toll on day-to-day activities.
"I never know from day to day how I'm gonna feel when I wake up and that's the frustrating part of all of it," Sanders said. "I know it's all working, like people say, rarely do people anymore die from this. You may die with it, and that's the hard part."
Former President Biden has mostly remained out of the public eye since leaving office. His first public appearance since then came in Chicago last month, and he has since mentioned that his cognitive abilities were okay.
Sanders believes battling this cancer at Biden's age of 82 could be much more difficult.
"That's what I worry about, because I'm tired," Sanders said. "I'm not that old, but I'm tired, so I can only imagine, because he already had some health challenges."
