WASHINGTON (AP) — A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer — his doctor said Friday, adding that no further treatment was needed.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician who served as Biden’s physician for many years, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during the president’s routine checkup on Feb. 16. Biden, 80, was considered by O’Connor to be “healthy, vital” and “fit” to fulfill his White House responsibilities during that physical exam, which comes as he is weeks away from launching an expected bid for re-election in 2024.
O’Connor said the removal site on Biden’s chest has “healed nicely” and the president will continue regular skin exams as part of his routine health plan.
Basal cell cancers are among the most common and easily treatable cancers, especially if caught early. O’Connor said they don’t tend to spread like other cancers, but can grow in size, which is why they’re removed.
Biden had removed “several localized non-melanoma skin cancers” from his body before starting his presidency, O’Connor said in his Feb. 16 summary of the president’s health, noting that it was common knowledge that Biden spent a lot of time spent in the sun during his childhood.
First lady Jill Biden had two basal cell lesions removed from her right eye and chest in January.
She said in an interview with the Associated Press last week that she’s now “extra careful” with sunscreen, especially when she’s at the beach.
Basal cell carcinoma is a slow-growing cancer that is usually confined to the surface of the skin — doctors can almost always remove it all with a shallow incision — and rarely causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.
The Bidens have long been advocates for the fight against cancer. Their adult son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.
