A White House doctor has confirmed that a lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest a month ago was cancerous.
On Friday, the president’s longtime physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said the lesion was basal cell carcinoma — a common type of skin cancer.
Mr BidenDuring a routine physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Feb. 16, the 80-year-old needed no further treatment after “successfully removing all cancerous tissue.”
Dr O’Connor added that the part of his chest that was removed was “recovering very well”.
Mr. Biden will continue to undergo regular skin screenings as part of his daily health program.
Basal cells are easy to treat, especially when they are caught early, Dr. O’Connor said.
They usually don’t spread like other cancers, but can get bigger, which is why they are removed.
Doctors declared Mr Biden healthy and “fit for duty” last month.
About a month before his treatment, the president was with his wife of 45 years, Jill Biden, as she underwent surgery to remove two cancerous skin lesions On her face and chest, a third of her left eyelid was removed “out of an abundance of caution”.
President Biden and his wife of 45 years, First Lady Jill, at the White House in January. Photo: AP
The 71-year-old first lady underwent an outpatient procedure at the same medical facility in Maryland that took more than eight hours.
After the death of their son Boyne from brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46, the couple had a long-term commitment to fighting cancer.
Speculation over the president’s health has been high since he first announced his bid for the White House in 2019 and has intensified since he said he intends to run for re-election in 2024.
He has yet to officially announce his re-election bid, but is expected to do so in the spring.
Mr Biden is already the oldest US president in history – if he is re-elected, he will be 86 at the end of his second term.
Mr. Biden arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Feb. 16. Photo: AP
President Biden leaves Maryland medical facility on same day Photo: AP
He vowed to work with Republicans during his State of the Union address in February — but Political opponents say he’s ‘unfit to be commander-in-chief’amid concerns among Democratic voters about his age.
last week He stumbled on the steps of Air Force One On 22 February, he boarded a plane to leave Poland.
Biden tripped on steps while boarding plane out of Poland
two years ago, He fell down the stairs on the presidential plane At Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, stumbled three times.
A White House spokesman insisted it was just a “mistake”, adding that the president was “well enough not to even need any attention from the medical team who was traveling with him”.
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November 2021, Mr Biden handed over presidential powers to his deputy, Vice President Kamala Harris “For a brief period” while he underwent anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy.
He has previously suffered a series of health problems, including an irregular heartbeat in 2003, when he was a senator from Delaware.
Mr Biden also underwent surgery for two brain aneurysms in 1998 – but tests of the affected arteries in 2014 showed they were functioning normally.