Jill Biden Reveals the Concerning Symptom Joe Experienced in the White House Before Finally Receiving a Diagnosis

• Former first lady Jill Biden revealed the concerning pattern she noticed with her husband, President Joe Biden, that led them to get a second opinion on his health after leaving the White House
• The former president was diagnosed with “aggressive” prostate cancer months after his presidency ended in 2025 and he continues to undergo regular testing and treatment
• Jill shared her shock at the diagnosis after he received comprehensive medical exams by the White House Medical Unit

Former first lady Dr. Jill Biden revealed in an interview with SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa on Wednesday, Aug. 5, that former President Joe Biden was getting up “seven times a night” before receiving his prostate cancer diagnosis.

Jill recalled telling White House physicians about her husband’s concerning nighttime pattern and nothing came of it, so she “thought it was addressed.”

“But when it continued when we got out of the White House [in January 2025], I said, ‘Joe, we’ve got to go up to Jeff in Philly — something’s wrong,’ ” she told Kelly Ripa.

Joe, now 83, was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer last May. Jill, 75, said her husband “will forever live with cancer” due to it metastasizing to his bones before getting caught.

“We have to be mindful of it every three months, testing and medicines,” Jill said on the podcast. “And anybody who’s gone through this cancer journey — and I’ve been through it many times with members of my family, of course with Beau — it’s constant. It’s daily. And I think it’s challenging.”

Beau Biden, Joe’s oldest son with his first wife, died of glioblastoma in 2015.

In a May CBS Sunday Morning interview, Jill said it was “shocking” to learn of her husband’s diagnosis given his exhaustive evaluations by White House doctors. “I do feel we had amazing care in the White House, but somehow that was missed,” she said.

She was told by her husband’s doctor that in accordance with the American Urological Association’s recommendations, men over 70 do not require routine blood tests to screen for prostate cancer because the disease is slow-growing.

Speaking to Ripa, Jill said that despite her concerns about something being wrong, “I never, oh my God, I never thought it would be prostate cancer.”

Kelly dismissed the speculation of a “big cover-up” from the Biden family amid Joe’s cancer diagnosis, sharing that her own father found himself in a similar situation.

“My dad was in a car accident and thought he injured his back because somebody was texting and driving and hit him from behind. And if he didn’t get into that accident, I don’t know what would’ve happened. He didn’t realize that it was the cancer in his bones,” Ripa, 55, said. “So I’m grateful for the car accident, believe it or not, because at least we were able to treat it.”

“So when people were like, ‘There’s no way you can’t know,’ oh, yes, there is,” she added.

In September 2025, a spokesperson for the former president confirmed to PEOPLE that he also underwent Mohs surgery — a procedure used to treat skin cancer.

Overall, Jill said that although her husband has no chance of fully eliminating the cancer, he is “doing okay.”