Biden says cancer fight means he will scale back book promotion tour

Former United States President Joe Biden says that his battle with an aggressive form of prostate cancer will prevent him from doing as many promotional appearances as he had hoped for his upcoming presidential memoir.

“Some days are better than others. It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down,” Biden, 83, said in a statement about the November 17 release of Promise Me, America.

“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 book chronicles Biden’s four years in the White House, the challenges his Administration confronted and the decisions that shaped his presidency.

Biden’s publisher, Little Brown, initially announced that he would do a publicity tour accompanying the release of the memoir, something that is common for books written by former Presidents. Biden’s office declined to provide additional details.

Biden announced in May 2025 that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. He subsequently underwent radiation and hormone therapy.

In August, his son Hunter Biden said the cancer had spread further and was causing significant pain.

The illness has sharply curtailed Joe Biden’s post-presidential life, leaving him increasingly reliant on a small circle of family members and long-time aides even as he has sought to shape his political legacy.

Questions about Biden’s age, stamina and mental acuity dogged his presidency and ultimately derailed his re-election bid. Those concerns crystallised during his June 27, 2024, debate against Donald Trump, when a weak-voiced Biden repeatedly lost his train of thought, struggled to finish answers and failed to mount a forceful case against his opponent.

The memoir is scheduled for release two weeks after the midterm elections, though Biden has not done promotional events for it. He has said the book will examine his administration’s response to major domestic and international crises, as well as his decision to seek re-election and ultimately withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

Unlike some predecessors, Biden has kept a limited public schedule, built no major philanthropic or policy operation and struggled to raise money for a presidential library.

In the statement, he did not provide additional details about his treatment, saying only that his doctors “continue to be encouraged by how I’ve responded”.