Joe Biden, 80, had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest last month, the White House doctor revealed on Friday.
AP reported:
A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer — his doctor said Friday, adding that no further treatment was required.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Biden’s longtime physician, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during the president’s routine physical on Feb. 16.
O’Connor said the site of the removal on Biden’s chest has “healed nicely” and the president will continue regular skin screenings as part of his routine health plan.
Basal cells are among the most common and easily treated forms of cancer — especially when caught early. O’Connor said they don’t tend to spread like other cancers, but could grow in size, which is why they are removed.
Last July Biden blurted out he had cancer during remarks in Massachusetts.
Biden struggled to read the teleprompter during his garbled speech and at one point it appeared he announced he has cancer.
“And my mother drove us and rather than us being able to walk, and guess what? The first frost you knew it was happening. You had to put on your windshield wipers to get literally the oil slick off the window,” said Biden.
“That’s why I — and so damn many other people I grew up with — have cancer,” he said.
The White House responded to Biden’s possible gaffe – or casual announcement that he has cancer.
The White House said Biden does not have cancer and referred reporters to a ‘fact-check’ from WaPo’s Glenn Kessler.
How dumb is this tweet? Check out Biden's medical report. Before he became president, he'd had non-melanoma skin cancers removed. Has no one at @RNCResearch ever had this common procedure? https://t.co/TS9VWtKcYC https://t.co/itklkVZIor
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) July 20, 2022