New Delhi: A cancerous skin lesion was removed from US President Joe Biden's chest last month, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said, adding it was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer, IANS reported.
O'Connor wrote in a memo that the tissue was removed as part of Biden's health assessment at a military hospital and sent for a traditional biopsy.
"As expected, the biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma. All cancerous tissue was successfully removed," O'Connor said, adding no further treatment is required.
Biden, 80, was deemed by O’Connor to be "healthy, vigorous and fit" to handle his White House responsibilities during that physical exam, according to the Associated Press.
O’Connor continued to say that the site of the removal on Biden’s chest has “healed nicely”, and as per health plans, the president will continue skin screenings.
Basal cells are among the most common and easily treated forms of cancer — especially when caught early. They don’t tend to spread or metastasize like other cancers, but could grow in size, which is why they are removed, O’Connor said.
The White House physician said Biden had “several localised non-melanoma skin cancers” removed from his body before his presidency. He noted that it was well established that Biden spent a lot of time in the sun during his youth, reported AP.
Similarly, First lady Jill Biden in January had two basal cell lesions removed from her right eye and chest, she told AP. She said that now she is extra careful about sunscreen, especially at the beach.
The Bidens have long been advocates for fighting cancer. Their adult son Beau died from brain cancer in 2015.
Basal cell carcinoma is slow-growing cancer that usually is confined to the surface of the skin — doctors almost always can remove it all with a shallow incision it seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.