Biden had cancerous lesion removed from chest

WASHINGTON — President Biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest during his annual physical last month — but needs no further treatment, the White House revealed Friday.

Biden physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor noted that the tissue was removed during the 80-year-old president’s checkup Feb. 16 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

“[T]he President had a skin lesion removed from his chest as part of his comprehensive health assessment,” wrote O’Connor, who gave Biden a clean bill of health in a five-page written report following the exam without taking any press questions.

“The tissue was sent for traditional biopsy. As expected, the biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma,” O’Connor added. “All cancerous tissue was successfully removed. The area around the biopsy site was treated presumptively with electrodessication and the curettage at the time of biopsy.”

“Basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to ‘spread’ or metastasize, as some more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma are known to do,” the doctor went on. “They do, however, have the potential to increase in size.”

“The site of the biopsy has healed nicely and the President will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive healthcare.”

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