Former President Joe Biden is speaking on Friday in Delaware — his first public remarks since his office announced he was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer.
His cancer was categorized as having a Gleason score of 9, which places him in Grade Group 5, the most severe category.
“Cancer touches us all,” Biden, who is 82, said in a tweet earlier this month. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
A spokesperson has said that Biden first learned of his cancer diagnosis in mid-May and that he was never previously diagnosed with prostate cancer. He did not undergo prostate cancer screening during his last medical checkup while in office, which was in February 2024, according to records at the time. His spokesperson said his last known prostate-specific antigen test, which is used to screen for prostate cancer, was in 2014. The screening is not generally recommended for men past the age of 70.
Biden is speaking at an annual event at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware, which is just south of his hometown of Wilmington.
Pictures on Friday showed Biden and former first lady Jill Biden at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington for a memorial mass. Friday marks 10 years since Biden’s son, Beau Biden, died after a battle with brain cancer.
ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images 
Sara Moniuszko,
Caroline Linton and
Ed O’Keefe
contributed to this report.