White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor issued a statement on Friday revealing that a biopsy conducted on a lesion found on President Biden confirmed it to be cancerous.
According to ABC, the lesion was removed from the president's chest during a physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last month. After its removal, it was then sent off for testing as part of Biden's skin cancer surveillance.
"As expected, the biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma," O'Connor said on Friday. "All cancerous tissue was successfully removed. … No further treatment is required.
The Skin Cancer Foundation explains basal cell carcinoma as being "the most common form of skin cancer and the most frequently occurring form of all cancers." Per the foundation's website, this form of skin cancer grows slowly and "most are curable and cause minimal damage when caught and treated early." An estimated 3.6 million cases of BCC are diagnosed each year within the U.S. alone.
"Basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to 'spread' or metastasize, as some more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma are known to do," said O'Connor in a quote obtained from ABC. "They do, however, have the potential to increase in size, resulting in a more significant issue as well as increased challenges for surgical removal."
At 80-years-old, Biden is the nation's oldest sitting president and was otherwise given a clean bill of health and deemed "fit for duty."
President Biden health update. pic.twitter.com/NrngIoSx8n
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) March 3, 2023
