How was Joe Biden’s cancer not caught earlier? The news that the former president is battling an aggressive, stage-4 prostate cancer that has spread to the bone ignited a public debate about why a person with peerless access to medical care was diagnosed at such an advanced stage with a disease that is quite common in men his age.

Former President Joe Biden is facing an “aggressive” case of Stage 4 prostate cancer, his office announced over the weekend in a statement. “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support,” Biden posted on social media Monday morning.

“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” his personal office said in a statement. “On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”