Earlier this year, US doctors removed two cancerous growths on First Lady Jill Biden. Now doctors are also working with husband Joe Biden. During an operation, they remove a cancer on the President's chest.
US President Joe Biden had skin cancer removed during his health check about two weeks ago. At the hospital appointment on February 16, a skin lesion on the 80-year-old's chest was removed and the tissue sent to the laboratory for examination, Biden's personal physician Kevin O'Connor said in a letter released by the White House on Friday. "As expected," the skin change turned out to be a so-called basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.
"All of the cancerous tissue was successfully removed," O'Connor continued. The skin area was treated at the appointment at Walter Reed Military Hospital in a Washington suburb in February. "No further treatment is necessary." The wound has also healed well, O'Connor explained. The doctor emphasized that unlike other types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma usually does not spread and does not form metastases.
O'Connor had previously mentioned the biopsy in his February 16 Presidential Health Certificate. Now the result of the examination of the skin tissue has been published. In his certificate, O'Connor had basically certified that the President was in good health and fully fit for office. "President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old man capable of successfully discharging the duties of the presidency."
However, the five-page letter also listed some health issues, including frequent hawking and coughing from gastroesophageal reflux and a stiff gait from spinal wear and tear.
Biden is likely to announce another presidential candidacy soon and run for a second term in 2024. The old age of the US Democrat is considered a problem: at 80, Biden is already the oldest president in history. At the end of a possible second term, he would be 86 years old.
