Even before Joe Biden was elected President of the United States, we began learning much more about his family. This includes his wife Jill Biden, whose dedication to education and public service has always been impressive. It also includes Hunter Biden, Joe’s son whose well-documented antics involving prostitutes and illegal drugs are a constant threat to Biden’s political career.
Biden’s other son, Beau, is someone who was taken from us at far too young an age. Beau died of brain cancer, yet most people don’t know the full story behind is tragic death. Are you someone who wants to know more? Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Beau Biden’s brain cancer.
Meet Beau Biden
Joe Biden had political aspirations at a young age and wasted no time realizing them. It seems that Beau Biden inherited some of those aspirations from his father. He was elected the Attorney General of Delaware in 2007 and, shortly thereafter, used his own political acumen to help his father’s career. At the Democratic National Convention, Beau was one of the politicians who nominated Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate.
Beau Biden had two very successful terms as the Attorney General of Delaware, despite occasional interruptions from deploying to Iraq and dealing with health issues (more on that very soon). He was actually gearing up to run for governor of Delaware, but he died before he could fully realize his political ambitions.
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An unexpected stroke
The first major health crisis for Beau Biden didn’t involve brain cancer. In 2010, the relatively young man experienced a stroke. At the time, he and the rest of his family (along with the residents of the state of Delaware) were happy that the stroke didn’t have any effect on his speech or his motor skills.
After recovery, Beau Biden resumed life as normal. However, in retrospect, some people think that his having a stroke at such a young age was actually an ominous sign of later health issues. In fact, some doctors think that this may have been a predictor of the brain cancer that would take his life, but nobody had any real way of knowing this at the time.
The stroke may have been a warning sign
Why, exactly, was it such a bad sign that Beau Biden had a stroke in his early 40s? The main reason is that people in this age range are not typically prone to strokes. Therefore, when someone relatively young experiences a stroke, doctors can’t help but wonder if this might be related to a deeper and potentially more dangerous issue.
For example, those who have brain tumors often experience strokes. At the time of Biden’s own stroke, there was no reason to suspect the existence of a tumor. Given that he died of brain cancer five years later, though, some medical professionals retroactively suspect that this stroke might have been the symptom of a much larger problem.
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Beau Biden’s struggles with brain cancer
Three years after Beau Biden’s stroke, he began feeling disoriented and very weak. He went to the doctor to find out what was going on and received the worst possible news. The symptoms he was experiencing were caused by a lesion on his brain.
After the lesion was removed, the Beau Biden was given a clean bill of health, but that didn’t last very long. That same year, he was diagnosed with brain cancer and began receiving a variety of treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
It wasn’t enough, however, and Beau Biden passed away in 2015. To this day, it is not clear if he died due to a primary or secondary brain tumor.
The nation mourns a lost hero
The cancer diagnosis and subsequent death of Beau Biden had a profound effect on Joe Biden. Originally, the older man was going to run for president in 2016, but he held off so he can spend more time with his son rather than campaigning.
The death of Beau Biden also had a major impact on Delaware and the rest of the country. He is remembered as a successful politician and a national hero thanks to his military service and deployment to Iraq. Mostly, he is remembered as an amazing son by his father, who frequently speaks of how Beau has inspired him.
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How, exactly, do Glioblastomas take lives?
The medical term for Beau Biden’s brain cancer is glioblastoma. This is a kind of fast-growing tumor that, in many cases, proves to be fatal. How, though, does it actually take lives?
Unfortunately, glioblastomas can end lives in a number of ways. This includes tumor progression throughout the brain, which occurs to a whopping 77% of patients. The second most common cause of death is infection, something that happens to 12.5% of those with glioblastomas.
The death of Beau Biden is a stark reminder that all of us should be more vigilant about screening for cancer. The earlier it is detected, the more treatment possibilities you will have, effectively increasing your chances of survival.