Biden underwent surgery to remove skin cancer lesions, spokesperson says
By Arlette Saenz, CNN
(CNN) — Joe Biden recently underwent Mohs surgery, a procedure used to remove skin cancer lesions, a spokesperson for Biden said Thursday, just a few months after the former president, 82, was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The spokesperson did not detail when the surgery took place, but the news came as video circulating online showed the former president with a scar on his forehead.
Mohs surgery is a procedure in which thin layers of skin are removed and examined under a microscope until the doctor sees no signs of skin cancer cells. It’s typically used to treat cancerous lesions that have returned after previous treatment, are fast-growing, or are in important areas like the face, hands or genitals.
In 2023 while president, Biden had a lesion removed from his chest, which later tested positive for basal cell carcinoma. At the time, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as Biden’s physician in the White House, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” and Biden would continue “dermatological surveillance.”
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer. It’s slow-growing and usually curable.
Biden was diagnosed in May with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that metastasized to his bones. Biden later told CNN he started a pill regimen to treat the cancer.
“The expectation is we’re going to be able to beat this,” Biden told CNN. “It’s not in any organ, it’s in – my bones are strong, it hadn’t penetrated. So, I’m feeling good.”
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