First Lady Set to Have Possible Cancerous Lesion Removed

First Lady Set to Have Possible Cancerous Lesion Removed

(UnitedVoice.com) – First Lady Jill Biden will be having minor surgery this week after a routine checkup found a small but possibly cancerous lesion. The presidential physician said it’s just a precaution and added he’ll provide updates after the procedure.

On January 4, Kevin O’Connor, physician to the president, sent a memo to Vanessa Valdivia, who works as both a special assistant to President Joe Biden and press secretary for the first lady. In the brief note, he said that during a routine screening for skin cancer, doctors found a lesion above Jill Biden’s right eye. He said that “In an abundance of caution,” doctors recommended a procedure to remove it.

The First Lady will undergo an outpatient treatment called Mohs surgery, a highly successful treatment for skin cancer. During Mohs surgery, doctors immediately check each fragment of removed tissue for cancer cells, and the surgeon continues removing tissue until the samples come back clear. The procedure ensures that surgeons remove the whole lesion, resulting in success rates of up to 99.8%. Biden will have the procedure on January 11 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where presidents typically receive treatment.

This incident isn’t the first time cancer has affected the First Family. On November 19, 2021, Dr. O’Connor released a summary of President Biden’s health, revealing he had several non-melanoma skin cancers removed before he took office — again using Mohs surgery. According to O’Connor, “these lesions were completely excised, with clear margins.” Non-melanoma skin cancers are generally less dangerous than malignant melanoma, which can become fatal if not treated early enough.

Overall, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, but in the US, it causes less than 0.1% of cancer deaths. Jill Biden’s lesion will probably worry her, but it’s unlikely to have serious consequences.

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