Lesion removed from Biden’s chest was cancerous, the president’s physician confirms

A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer, his physician confirmed on Friday. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Biden’s longtime doctor, said that “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during the president’s routine physical on February 16. “No further treatment is required”, O’Connor wrote in a statement.

The president’s physician said that “the site of the biopsy had healed nicely” and that “the president will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive healthcare”. 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.

Biden, 80, was deemed by O’Connor to be “healthy, vigorous” and “fit " to handle his White House responsibilities during that physical exam, which comes as he is weeks away from launching an expected bid for reelection in 2024.

Biden had “several localized non-melanoma skin cancers” removed from his body before he started his presidency, O’Connor said in his Feb. 16 summary of the president’s health, noting it was well established that Biden spent a lot of time in the sun during his youth.

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