12th January, 2023
Surgeons removed a cancerous lesion above U.S. First Lady Dr Jill Biden ’s right eye and one on her chest, the White House said Wednesday, while a third lesion on her left eyelid was being examined.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the physician to President Joe Biden, said examinations showed that the lesion over Jill Biden’s right eye and one newly discovered on her chest were both confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma.
The lesion on her left eyelid was “fully excised, with margins, and was sent for standard microscopic examination,” according to O’Connor’s report.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer, but also the most curable form. It’s considered highly treatable, especially when caught early.
It is a slow-growing cancer that usually is confined to the surface of skin — doctors almost always can remove it all with a shallow incision — and seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.
The Bidens spent the day at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where the 71-year-old first lady underwent a common outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery to remove and examine the lesions.
After nearly nine hours at the hospital, the president returned to the White House solo; the first lady was expected to follow later in the evening.