Former President Joe Biden said on Sunday that his health will limit how much he can do to promote his forthcoming memoir, because Biden cancer sometimes slows him down. Biden, 83, posted the message on social media on 8 November, nine days before the book, Promise Me, America, is due out on 17 November. The New York Times reported the announcement the same day, and Bloomberg followed with its own report on 9 November.
“Some days are better than others. It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down,” Biden 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.” The message was short and direct, and it was the first time Biden had spoken so plainly about how Biden cancer limits a public commitment he had made.
Biden was diagnosed in May 2025 with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones, less than four months after he left the White House. His office said at the time that the cancer was hormone-sensitive and had responded to treatment, and Biden later said he completed a course of treatment in October 2025, with radiation working as intended. He said his doctors remain encouraged by his response to treatment for Biden cancer, even as the illness limits what he can do on some days.
The memoir covers his four years in the White House, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the aftermath of the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol, domestic legislation, global diplomacy and his decision to run for re-election before stepping aside in 2024. Biden said he was diagnosed with cancer while he was writing the book, and the Biden cancer diagnosis has shaped both the writing and the plans to promote it.
Biden cancer and the memoir
The book is the first full account of his presidency from Biden himself, and its publication has been planned for months. The memoir was expected to be supported by a round of interviews and public appearances, and the announcement on Sunday means that schedule will now be smaller than planned, because Biden cancer limits how many appearances he can make.
Biden turns 84 on 20 November, three days after the book is published. The timing means the publication week will double as a birthday week, and the former president will be promoting a book about his time in office while managing a treatment schedule that leaves him with less energy on some days. His office has not said which appearances he will still make, or whether any events have been cancelled outright.
Biden cancer and the diagnosis
The Biden cancer diagnosis in May 2025 came as a surprise to the public. The disease was described as stage four, and it had spread to his bones. His office said the cancer appeared to be hormone-sensitive, which meant it was likely to respond to treatment, and Biden began treatment soon after.
Since the Biden cancer diagnosis, Biden has kept a low public profile, appearing at memorial events and in occasional statements. His appearance at a September 11 memorial service was one of his few recent public outings, and he was pictured there with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. The memoir announcement is the most personal statement he has made about his health since the diagnosis, and it frames the cancer not as a crisis but as a limit he is learning to work around.
The reaction to the announcement has been sympathetic across the political spectrum, with news outlets noting the plain way Biden described his condition. Fox News reported that his doctors remain encouraged by his response to treatment, and the New York Post reported that the former president said the illness has slowed him down at times without stopping him. Neither outlet suggested the treatment had changed, and neither reported any new medical development.
For now, the book will have to speak for itself, as Biden put it, while Biden cancer limits the tour behind it. Promise Me, America comes out on 17 November, and the former president will do fewer conversations about it than he had hoped. The words on the page will carry the account of his presidency, while the man who wrote them manages a cancer that, in his own words, has not stopped him but sometimes slows him down.