
US President Joe Biden had basal cell carcinoma a common type of skin cancer removed from his chest in February, and no further treatment is required, according to White House physician Kevin O’Connor on Friday.
The White House physician stated in a letter that all cancerous tissue was successfully removed, and that Biden will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing healthcare, but that the site had healed.
After a physical examination, doctors declared Biden, 80, healthy and “fit for duty” last month. At the time, they stated that a small lesion on his chest had been removed and sent for a biopsy.
According to O’Connor’s letter, basal cell carcinoma lesions do not spread or metastasize.
Biden’s health is being closely monitored as he prepares to run for a second presidential term in 2024. His wife, Jill Biden, has stated that he intends to run, but no formal announcement of the president’s intentions has been made.
Democrats are divided over whether Biden, who is already the oldest president in American history, should be the party’s nominee.
Biden’s three-hour session with doctors in February at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive examination since taking office in January 2021.