Understanding a former president's cancer diagnosis
Former President Joe Biden’s diagnosis with an aggressive form of prostate cancer reignited debate about his health while in office and his decision to seek a second term – which he later abandoned.
“Original Sin,” a new book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, details numerous signs of declining health and mental acuity that aides and senior Democrats witnessed. The book says aides went to lengths to hide Biden’s frailty until his disastrous June 2024 debate with Donald Trump that forced the Democratic president to step aside in the presidential race and back then-Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee.
Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page writes of how Democrats are facing uncomfortable questions about whether they recognized signs of Biden’s worsening health and if so, what they did or should have done it. Page writes that the latest cancer diagnosis is adding to those questions.
👋 Paste BN Editor-in-Chief Caren Bohan here. Welcome to The Backstory, our newsletter exclusively for subscribers (that’s you!). I’ll be taking you behind the scenes of our breaking news coverage, scoops and unique storytelling.
Here are a few of my favorite headlines from Paste BN this week:
- What's in Trump's big tax bill? Here's what you need to know.
- Thousands of foreign-born clergy working in U.S. are at risk of being forced to leave.
- Elissa's journey: A young mom's relentless battle for life after colorectal cancer.
- The Diddy trial details are worse than anyone expected. Will how we treat victims change?
- OnlyFans, AI and "sexy selfies" are impacting girls. This author wrote a book about it.
More than a political story
Page writes that Biden’s diagnosis with an aggressive form of prostate cancer has prompted “a surge of sympathy and compassion.”
“But it has also underscored growing questions and, among some top Democrats, anger about his initial decision to run for reelection despite signs of physical frailty and the reality of advanced age,” she writes.
The cancer diagnosis was not just a political story. It also sparked huge interest among our readers in how to detect the signs of prostate cancers and about the diagnosis.
We delivered in-depth coverage of these aspects of the story while also exploring themes of grief and tragedy that have marked Biden’s public career.
In a multimedia story, Kathryn Palmer and Janet Loehrke walked readers through what the symptoms are of prostate cancer and how it is diagnosed. And Savannah Kuchar and David Oliver explored the former president's relationship with sadness, writing Biden's "most common (and persistent) companions, though, have been grief and tragedy."
Nicole Fallert understood the diagnosis in the context of retirement, asking "Why do so many Americans stop work, only to end up sick?"
Ken Alltucker examined whether Biden’s cancer should have been caught earlier. Alltucker also discussed the nuances and challenges of screening for the illness.
One reporter's witness account of history
Tucked among the spruce and fir trees – with the snow-capped Cascade Mountains towering in the background – this northwest Washington pocket, just a few miles from the Canadian border, is a collection of quiet, winding two-lane roads. It’s a place where both residents and spry, wandering dogs have the freedom to trot in the middle of those roads unless a slow-moving car or a truck carrying timber needs to pass. The Nooksack River’s gentle flow whispers a history of salmon fishing for survival and Indian land stolen by settlers who found their way to America.
Paste BN national columnist Suzette Hackney published an exclusive first-person essay about another great injustice suffered by the Indigenous people from this region. It's not an account of stolen land, but one of stolen homes.
"It was important for me to capture the deep culture of the Nooksack 306 and Native Americans in general. That took a lot of research," Hackney said of her essay. "But it also meant being open to learning in real time. This was the first time I'd ever been on a reservation, the first time I had written so intimately about native issues. Watching as a family was evicted from their home was heartbreaking. It was another first for me. I felt it was important to write it just as I witnessed it. Powerful storytelling often means just observing what is before us and setting that scene for readers."
Thank you
Our journalists were present for every moment of a historic week. Thank you for supporting our journalism with your subscription. Our work wouldn't be possible without you.
Best wishes,
Caren