Joe Biden says he's 'feeling good' in first remarks after cancer diagnosis announced
Speaking to press after he gave a speech at the Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware, on Friday local time, Mr Biden said everyone was optimistic about his recovery.
"I'm feeling good."
Last week Biden's office said the former president had been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
He was diagnosed after experiencing urinary symptoms, and he and his family are reviewing treatment options with doctors, according to the statement.
The former president said he was already undergoing treatment for cancer, which entailed taking a pill.
"It's all a matter of taking one particular pill for the next six weeks and then another one," he said.
"It's not in any organ, my bones are strong, so I'm feeling good."
Mr Biden spoke at an annual gathering marking Memorial Day at Veterans Memorial Park in his home state of Delaware, not far from his home in Wilmington.
The event coincided with the 10th anniversary of his son Beau's death.
It also comes amid renewed questions about Biden's mental and physical health after the recent publication of a book about his fitness for office.
He dropped his re-election bid in July 2024 after a disastrous debate against Donald Trump, after which those in his party questioned whether he could continue as the party's nominee.
Questions about his decline and how the White House staff reacted to it are at the centre of a recent book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which has renewed the debate.
Asked on Friday if he had a response to recent questions about his mental and physical health, he smiled and appeared to get his words mixed up.
"You can see I'm mentally incompetent and I can walk and I can beat the hell out of both of them," he said.
In response to Democrats who question whether he should have initially run for re-election at all, he said: "Why didn't they run against me then? Because I'd have beaten them."
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