United States President Joe Biden, 80, had an annual medical exam in February and his doctors had declared him sane to carry out his government duties. But they also removed a small skin lesion in the chest area. This Friday, his GP confirmed it was a successfully removed basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer. Biden will not need further treatment.
Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician and Biden’s personal physician, has indicated in a statement distributed by the President’s Office that “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during the Feb. 16 exam at Walter Reed Hospital. Northern Washington and underwent a biopsy. As a preventive measure, the area around the lesion was treated with electrosiccation and curettage.
“As expected,” the result of this test identified what was removed as basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common and benign types of skin cancer. This type of lesion does not tend to metastasize or spread, unlike other more dangerous variants such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma.
The surgical area healed smoothly, O’Connor says. Specialists will continue to keep Biden under dermatological control, but once removed, the President “will not require further treatment.”
Skin malignancies that are not melanomas are among the most common in the population, accounting for 6% of all cancers detected. Although their mortality rate is very low, they can lead to complications if not treated properly. Surgical removal, curettage, and desiccation used on the US President are among the most common treatments for small lesions.
The US President’s physical, conducted on February 16, found that Biden was “healthy” and “vigorous,” as noted by his then-physician, who noted the leader “is capable of successfully carrying out his presidential functions.” “Extremely detailed” neurological examinations were carried out and no evidence of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke or multiple sclerosis was found.
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