OTTUMWA, Ia. (WTVO) — Former Vice President Joe Biden promised to “cure cancer” if he is elected president in 2020.

Biden was speaking at a campaign event in Iowa on Tuesday when he talked about the difficulty in expressing comfort to people who had faced a loss in their family.

Biden said well meaning people would say, “‘I know how you feel'” when in reality they have “no idea how I feel,” possibly a reference to the loss of his son Beau Biden to brain cancer in 2015.

“That’s why I’ve worked so hard in my career to make sure that… I promise you if I’m elected president, you’re going to see the single most important thing that changes America, we’re gonna cure cancer,” Biden declared.