US President Joe Biden, who is 80 years old, had a cancerous skin lesion successfully removed from his chest in February, according to a report made public by the White House on Friday. The lesion was detected during a routine medical examination and was identified as a basal cell carcinoma, which is generally considered less serious than other types of skin cancers.
Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, stated that basal cell carcinomas “do not tend to ‘spread’ or metastasize,” and confirmed that “no further treatment is required.” The lesion was removed during Biden’s annual medical checkup on February 16, after which he was declared “fit for duty.”
O’Connor added that the site of the biopsy has healed nicely, and that the President will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive healthcare. He noted that basal cell carcinomas were generally more innocuous than “more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma.”
In February, following Biden’s medical examination, O’Connor declared that the President remained a healthy and vigorous 80-year-old male who was fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, including those of Chief Executive, Head of State, and Commander in Chief.
Biden’s checkup was the final one before an expected announcement by the President to declare that he is running for reelection in 2024. At the February appointment, he completed a series of tests that he had begun the previous year at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a complex in the Washington suburbs with a presidential facility.
O’Connor noted that the President had spent “a good deal of time in the sun in his youth,” and that he had already been treated regularly for removal of localized, non-melanoma skin cancers. However, the successful removal of the recent basal cell carcinoma has put any concerns to rest and ensured that Biden remains in good health to carry out his duties as President of the United States.
