First lady Jill Biden had two cancerous skin lesions removed during a scheduled procedure on Wednesday, Jan. 11, according to AP News. Surgeons removed cancerous lesions above her right eye and from her chest, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, revealed. Both were determined to be basal cell carcinoma. Meanwhile, a third legion on her left eyelid was “fully excised” and sent off to be observed under a microscope. It is not yet clear if the cancer has spread.
The outpatient procedure, commonly known as Mohs surgery, took place at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. President Joe Biden was by Jill’s side the entire day, according to Dr. O’Connor. He also said the educator was “experiencing some facial swelling and bruising, but is in good spirits and is feeling well” and is expected to step back into the White House on Wednesday evening.
Dr. O’Connor revealed that Jill was expected to get the cancer spots removed in a statement last week shared by Vanessa Valdivia, Jill’s press secretary. “During a routine skin cancer screening, a small lesion was found above the first lady’s right eye. In an abundance of caution, doctors have recommended that it be removed,” the Jan. 4 statement began. The statement went on to release the details of the procedure and promised that “any changes in her condition or treatment plan” will be shared with the public.
During a routine skin cancer screening, a small lesion was found above the First Lady’s right eye. Memo here from Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Physician to the President, with more information on the First Lady’s upcoming outpatient procedure to have it removed and examined. pic.twitter.com/DIQrnjtZFc
— Vanessa Valdivia (@vvaldivia46) January 4, 2023
Jill had a “medical procedure” in April 2021, but details were not provided. All that is known is that it was a “common medical procedure” that took place at an outpatient center near George Washington University in Washington, D.C., per AP. “The first lady tolerated the procedure well,” communications director Elizabeth Alexander informed the public.
Nearly a year ago in Feb. 2022, Joe Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot program that he originally launched in 2016 as Vice President of the United States. “Because of recent progress in cancer therapeutics, diagnostics, and patient-driven care, as well as the scientific advances and public health lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s now possible to set ambitious goals: to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer— and, by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today,” the press released touted.
First Lady Jill Biden also joined the program by encouraging people to obtain cancer screenings that were pushed to the side due to the coronavirus pandemic.