Biden had skin cancer removed, doctor says no more treatment needed

Published 03/03/2023, 03:38 PM
Updated 03/03/2023, 06:35 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the news media after attending a closed Senate Democratic Caucus lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis

By Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest in February that was a basal cell carcinoma - a common form of skin cancer - and no further treatment is needed, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said on Friday.

All cancerous tissue was successfully removed, the White House physician said in a letter, adding that Biden will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing healthcare but the site had healed.

Last month, doctors declared Biden, 80, healthy and "fit for duty" after a physical examination. They said at the time that a small lesion had been removed from his chest and sent for a biopsy.

O'Connor said in the letter that basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to spread or metastasize.

Biden's health is under close scrutiny as he prepares for an expected run for a second presidential term in 2024. His wife Jill Biden has said he plans to run, although a formal declaration of the president's intentions has yet to be made.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the news media after attending a closed Senate Democratic Caucus lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Whether Biden - already the oldest American president ever - should be the party's candidate is a source of debate among Democrats.

Biden's three-hour session with doctors in February at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021.

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