--- title: Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain Over John McCain's Cancer description: Joe Biden consoled Meghan McCain in an emotional moment on the View, as her father is treated for the same brain cancer that killed his son canonical: https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-13T23:09:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:34:01.495Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain About Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis og:description: His son, Beau, died after battling the same cancer that John McCain now has og:url: https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb95bee09c4e467e2/6988f506929fad193ebeed92/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-cancer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, MEGHAN MCCAIN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain About Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis twitter:description: His son, Beau, died after battling the same cancer that John McCain now has twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb95bee09c4e467e2/6988f506929fad193ebeed92/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-cancer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain Over Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis: 'You Have to Have Hope'  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Dec 13, 2017 11:09 PM UTC  Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with Meghan McCain on the View on Dec. 13, 2017. Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with Meghan McCain on the View on Dec. 13, 2017.Lou Rocco—ABC/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Dec 13, 2017 11:09 PM UTC [Joe Biden](http://time.com/5021408/joe-biden-president-of-the-united-states/) consoled [Meghan McCain](http://time.com/4865791/john-mccain-daughter-meghan-mccain-cancer/) Wednesday in an emotional moment on _The View_, telling her to maintain hope as her father undergoes treatment for the same brain cancer that killed his son. Arizona Sen. [John McCain](http://time.com/5003525/john-mccain-naval-academy-speech/) announced in July that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor called [glioblastoma](http://time.com/4865922/glioblastoma-john-mccain-brain-tumor/). Biden’s son, Beau, died in 2015 after a battle with the same cancer. The former Vice President wrote about his son’s death in his new book, _Promise Me, Dad._ “I couldn’t get through your book, I tried,” Meghan McCain told Biden on Wednesday through tears. “I think about Beau almost every day.” > [](https://twitter.com/ABC/status/940983829241544704) She asked Biden what he would tell other cancer patients and their families as they cope with tragedy. “There is hope, and if anybody can make it, your Dad — her Dad is one my best friends. Her Dad goes after me hammer and tongs,” he said, adding that researchers were finding breakthroughs in the fight against cancer every day. “We’re like two brothers who were somehow raised by different fathers or something because of our points of view.” Biden said his son also drew courage from John McCain. “I know if I pick up the phone tonight and call John McCain, and said, ‘John, I’m at Second and Vine in Oshkosh, and I need your help, come,’ he’d get on a plane and come. And I would for him too,” he said. “The thing that I found was — and Beau insisted on, your Dad’s going to insist on — is you’ve got to maintain hope,” Biden said. “You have to have hope.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/"},"headline":"Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain Over Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis: 'You Have to Have Hope'","datePublished":"2017-12-13T23:09:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:34:01.495Z","description":"His son, Beau, died after battling the same cancer that John McCain now has","url":"https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/","keywords":["Television","Joe Biden","Cancer","John McCain","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb95bee09c4e467e2/6988f506929fad193ebeed92/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-cancer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb95bee09c4e467e2/6988f506929fad193ebeed92/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-cancer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, MEGHAN MCCAIN","caption":"VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, MEGHAN MCCAIN","creditText":"Lou Rocco—ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5063662/joe-biden-meghan-mccain-brain-cancer/","name":"Joe Biden Comforts Meghan McCain Over Her Father's Cancer Diagnosis: 'You Have to Have Hope'"}}]}] ```