WASHINGTON — A cancerous tumor was removed from President Biden’s chest during a physical examination last month, the president’s doctor said Friday.
At Walter Reed National Army Medical Center in mid-February, Mr. On Friday, the president’s longtime physician, Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor said a biopsy confirmed it was basal cell carcinoma, a common and relatively non-invasive form of skin cancer.
All cancerous tissue was successfully removed and the area was treated with electrodessication, which uses electrical currents to remove skin lesions, and curettage, which removes tissue by scraping, Dr. O’Connor said. Mr. Many of Biden’s small non-melanoma skin cancers were removed years ago, Dr. O’Connor noted in his initial physical summary last month.
“The site of the biopsy has healed well, and the President will continue dermatological surveillance as part of his comprehensive health care,” Dr. O’Connor wrote in a memo to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. In an earlier summary of Dr. Biden said he was “qualified to successfully carry out the duties of the presidency.”
In recent weeks, Mr. Biden and his advisers have sought to signal that the 80-year-old president is healthy and capable of maintaining a physically demanding schedule as he prepares to run for re-election in 2024. Last week, Mr. Surreptitiously visiting Ukraine, running on some sleep, he traveled to the war-torn country to meet its president.
“Experience? yes vice? Yes,” said Mr. Ron Klein, Biden’s former chief of staff, wrote on Twitter. “Too Old to Work? Try this on your next long weekend.
But Mr. Biden has slowed in his movements in recent years, walking stiffly as he walks to the White House podium or across the South Lawn. Dr. O’Connor says the stiffness is the result of “spinal arthritis, mild post-fracture leg arthritis and mild peripheral neuropathy of the legs,” and the president is undergoing physical therapy to regain flexibility.
How Times reporters see politics We trust our journalists to be independent observers. So when Times employees vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money or raising money for any political candidate or electoral cause.
Incidence of basal and squamous cell carcinomas are the most common forms of skin cancer in the United States and are rarely life-threatening. 18 to do 20 times more Like melanoma. Each year, about 4.3 million American adults are treated for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, according to government data. Most basal cell cancers are caused by long-term exposure to UV radiation from sunlight, and skin cancers are more common in older people.
Doctors discovered a basal cell carcinoma from the breast of Jill Biden, the first lady, and another in January during a physical examination above her right eye. In a note at the time, Dr O’Connor said the cancerous lesions had all been removed and Dr Biden, 71, was “feeling good” after treatment.
The first lady received a procedure Moss surgery, which involves repeatedly removing thin layers of skin and examining each one under a microscope to check for cancer cells. He told The Associated Press in an interview last week in Africa that he is now “Extra Care” About sunscreen.
Last year, the president and first lady introduced a plan to “supercharge” the Cancer Moonshot effort to end cancer in America. Their son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.
“Our goal is to reduce cancer mortality by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years,” said Mr. Biden said in his State of the Union address last month. “Turn more cancers from death sentences into curable diseases. And provide more support for patients and families.
“It’s personal for a lot of us,” he added.
