US President Joe Biden had a cancerous skin tumor removed last month during a routine medical examination, the White House said.
According to Mr. Biden’s doctor, all the cancerous tissue has been removed and no further treatment is required.
The doctor added that Mr. Biden will continue dermatological surveillance as part of his ongoing treatment.
In February, the 80-year-old president underwent a medical examination that the White House said showed he was healthy and “fit for duty.”
Kevin O’Connor, Mr. Biden’s physician, wrote in a note released to the media on Friday that the lesion was removed from Mr. Biden’s chest on February 16 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington.
“No further treatment is required,” he said, adding that the area “healed nicely” after the biopsy.
The note says that the type of cancer detected – basal cell carcinoma – usually does not spread or metastasize.
Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are the two most common forms of skin cancer in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With 3.6 million Americans diagnosed each year, it is the most common form of cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. It is slow growing, curable and causes minimal damage if treated early.
Unlike melanoma—another type of common skin growth that can spread to other parts of the body—basal and squamous cell carcinomas “can usually be cured, but they can be disfiguring and expensive to treat,” the CDC says.
In January, Mr. Biden’s wife, First Lady Jill Biden, three lesions were removed and two of them later gave a positive result for basal cell carcinoma.
In the past, before he became president, Mr. Biden had several non-melanoma skin cancers removed.
In his 2021 medical report, Dr. O’Connor wrote that the president’s lesions had been excised and “there are currently no areas suspicious for skin cancer.”
Doctors advise that the best way to prevent skin cancer is to cover your skin and use sunscreen, even in winter.
The Bidens have long been staunch supporters of the fight against and treatment of cancer. Their grown son Beau died in 2015 from brain cancer.
Mr. Biden is expected to announce that he will run for a second term.
