US President Joe Biden had cancerous lesion removed from chest, White House says

No further treatment was required, confirmed the president's doctor. Credit: AP

US President Joe Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was cancerous, the White House has said.

The lesion was a basal cell carcinoma - a common form of skin cancer, revealed Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Mr Biden's longtime physician.

He confirmed that “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during the president's routine physical check last month and that no further treatment was required.

Mr Biden, 80, was deemed by Mr 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 re-election in 2024.

The doctor said the site of the removal on Mr 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.

Basal cell carcinoma is a slow-growing cancer that usually is confined to the surface of skin - doctors almost always can remove it all with a shallow incision - and seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.

Mr O'Connor said they don't tend to spread like other cancers, but could grow in size, which is why they are removed.

Mr Biden had “several localised non-melanoma skin cancers" removed from his body before he started his presidency, the doctor said noting that Mr Biden had spent a lot of time in the sun during his youth.

The Bidens have long been advocates for fighting cancer, particularly after their 46-year-old son Beau died in 2015 from brain cancer.

In January, First lady Jill Biden had two basal cell lesions removed from her right eye and chest.

She said in an Associated Press interview last week that she's now “extra careful” about sunscreen, especially when she’s at the beach.

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