Jill Biden is 75. Joe is almost 10 years older, living with stage 4 prostate cancer that spread to his bones. Her way through it: accept that he’s going to die, then spend the time left finding joy instead of fear.
Joe Biden was diagnosed in May 2025 with an aggressive prostate cancer that had already reached his bones, putting it at stage 4. On the Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast, Jill Biden said she made peace with what that means.
“Of course I’m scared,” she said, noting her husband is nearly a decade older than she is. “It’s like, you can’t imagine life without them. But you know they’re going to die, just like I know I’m going to die. So part of it, you accept.”
Her framing isn’t about imminent loss. It’s a choice about how to live with it: “Joe has cancer. He’s gonna die, so let’s make the most of every moment. Let’s be together, let’s find things that bring us joy.”
Recent scans brought encouraging news. The cancer is no longer in the prostate, and doctors told the couple he “probably won’t die of cancer. It’ll be something else.” The bone involvement remains the main concern, and he’ll need difficult medication indefinitely.
Jill, who married Joe in 1977, said he “hasn’t discussed any of his own fear” with her and called him “the strength of our family.” The couple has buried a great deal together, including Joe’s first wife and infant daughter in a 1972 crash and their son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015. She said she now prays to Beau daily and has asked him to “show up” for his father.
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