Former US President Joe Biden sent a personal email of condolence to Melina Newcomb, a Virginia mother who lost her 19-year-old son Levi to cancer in 2019, according to reports from Newsweek and TAG24. Newcomb had reached out to Biden via Threads following his own prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025 to share their shared grief over losing a child to the disease, receiving an unexpected personal response five days later.
A Mother’s Outreach After Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis
Melina Newcomb, a resident of Moneta, Virginia, decided to write to former US President Joe Biden after learning on the social media platform Threads that members of the public could send him messages following his prostate cancer diagnosis, which was announced by his office in May 2025 with a Gleason score of 9, or Grade Group 5, spread to the bones. According to reports from Newsweek, Newcomb sent her message on August 20, 2026, intending simply to express support and acknowledge their mutual experience with child loss.
Biden’s personal history with family loss includes the death of his first wife, Neilia, and daughter, Naomi, in a 1972 car crash, as well as the death of his son Beau in 2015 from a brain tumor. Recognizing this shared burden, Newcomb wrote to the former president to let him know he was not alone during his health crisis. Five days after sending the message, she received a reply in her email inbox.
“Thank you for writing to me,” Biden wrote, according to TAG24. “It is so sorry about your loss. Please be assured that I send my sincere condolences as you continue to grieve, and that I include you in my prayers.”
The message continued: “There is no way to know where or when fate leads us, but we can do our best to seek a life full of light, hope, and love. Even though it may take many seasons, I hope you can find some comfort in knowing that the love you shared with your son will always be with you.”
Levi’s Battle With Cancer and the Family’s Loss
Newcomb’s son, Levi, was diagnosed with a high-risk stage IV medulloblastoma—a malignant brain tumor—when he was just four years old, according to Newsweek. The diagnosis initiated years of aggressive medical treatment, including brain surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Newcomb recounted that Levi had to relearn basic motor and communication skills following his surgery, ranging from swallowing and speaking to crawling and walking.
After undergoing treatment, Levi experienced roughly fourteen years of relatively normal life and schooling. During his school years, he regularly won the Citizenship Award, which has since been renamed the Levi Mayo Award in his honor. However, in 2018, doctors discovered a secondary cancer—an undifferentiated sarcoma—caused by the radiation therapy he received as a young child to treat the original brain tumor. Levi passed away four days after Christmas in 2019 at the age of 19.
The subsequent grief was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which prevented Newcomb from attending in-person grief support groups or visiting her doctors during the first year following his death. According to research summarized by the Hospice Foundation of America cited in reporting, open emotional expression and social support play a significant role in helping individuals navigate the profound loss of a family member.
Broader Cancer Statistics and Public Response
The personal correspondence occurs against a backdrop of widespread cancer mortality in the United States. According to estimates from the National Cancer Institute cited by Newsweek, approximately 626,140 Americans are projected to die from cancer in 2026. Although the overall five-year survival rate for all cancer types has risen to approximately 70.5 percent, familial loss remains a pervasive reality.
For Newcomb, receiving a direct message from a former national leader who has navigated similar personal tragedies provided an unexpected moment of validation during a prolonged period of bereavement. While representatives for Joe and Jill Biden did not immediately comment on whether the former president routinely answers such correspondence personally, Newcomb noted to Newsweek that the gesture served as a reminder of fundamental human empathy.
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