Joe Biden had a skin cancer lesion removed from his chest last month
A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was basal cell carcinoma – a common form of skin cancer – his doctor said on Friday, adding that no further treatment was needed.
dr Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician who was Biden’s longtime physician, said during the president’s routine Feb. 16 physical, “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed.” Biden, 80, was deemed “healthy, vigorous” and “fit” by O’Connor to perform his White House duties during this physical, which comes as he was weeks from making an expected bid for re-election removed in 2024.
O’Connor said the site of the removal on Biden’s chest “healed well” and the president will continue to have regular skin exams as part of his routine health plan.
Basal cells are among the most common and easiest to treat cancers—especially when caught early. O’Connor said that instead of spreading like other cancers, they may increase in size, which is why they are removed.
Biden had “several localized non-melanoma skin cancers” removed from his body before assuming 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 in the country sun in his youth.
Learn how to navigate and build trust in your organization with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter exploring what leaders need to succeed. Login here.
