Joe Biden, 82, Is Undergoing Radiation Therapy and Hormone Treatment Following Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Joe Biden has a new treatment plan in place amid his prostate cancer diagnosis.

“As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” a spokesperson for the former president told PEOPLE in a statement on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Sources familiar with the situation tell PEOPLE that Biden, 82, is doing well and responding to treatment.

Insiders told NBC News that Biden’s radiation treatment is expected to last five weeks and he has already been taking a pill form of hormone medication.

The radiation treatment, according to the sources familiar with Biden’s health plan, “marks a new point” in the politician’s care plan.

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Biden was diagnosed with “aggressive” prostate cancer that metastasized to the bone back in May, after a “small nodule” was found on his prostate.

The former president, who turns 83 next month, shared his diagnosis publicly days later, posting a photo of himself smiling with wife Dr. Jill Biden and their cat Willow, as he wrote in a statement on X that “cancer touches us all.”

Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis “was characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” a spokesperson for the politician previously said.

A prostate cancer’s grade group refers to the likelihood of the cancer growing or spreading to other parts of the body, per the American Cancer Society. Grade group 5 means the cancer is highly aggressive and rapidly growing, and according to Saint John’s Cancer Institute, individuals at grade 5 are considered high risk.

Biden also underwent a skin cancer treatment known as Mohs surgery last month. He could be seen in public with a large bandage on his forehead.