New Castle, Delaware - Nearly two weeks after revealing his prostate cancer diagnosis, former President Joe Biden said on Friday that he's optimistic about his recovery.

"All the folks are very optimistic," Biden told reporters on the sidelines of a Memorial Day event in New Castle, Delaware. He confirmed that he had begun treatment.

"My expectation is that we're going to be able to beat this," the 82-year-old said about his illness.

Biden mentioned that he is currently taking "a pill" but did not provide further details about his treatment.

Donald Trump Trump is now sharing posts claiming that Biden was executed and replaced with clones

His office had announced the diagnosis on May 18, stating that it was a more aggressive and advanced – but also treatable – form of the disease.

Biden left office in January as the oldest president in US history. He had originally planned to run again for the Democrats in the 2024 election, but during the campaign experienced frequent lapses and a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.

That raised increasing doubts about his physical and mental fitness, which eventually forced him to withdraw.

A slew of newly released books documenting the extent of his campaign's efforts to conceal his deteriorating health have since made major headlines, as well as anger at and within the Democratic Party.