Jill Biden has two cancerous lesions removed from her eyelid and chest during Walter Reed’s visit

Jill Biden had three lesions removed Wednesday during outpatient surgery at Walter Reed National Military Hospital, with at least two of them determined to be cancerous.

The first lady underwent a procedure to remove a lesion over her right eye, which White House Dr. Kevin O’Connor said was confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma.

Doctors also removed a lesion on his left eyelid and sent it for microscopic examination to determine if it was cancerous.

They also found a lesion on her chest, which appeared to be basal cell carcinoma, and doctors removed it. They later confirmed that it was that type of skin cancer.

“All of the cancerous tissue was successfully removed,” O’Connor said.

President Joe Biden accompanied her to the military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, for the outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery. She spent the day with her before returning alone to the White House on Wednesday night.

Dr. O’Connor said the first lady is experiencing swelling and bruising on her face. She is expected to return to the White House later Wednesday and spend more than nine hours in the hospital.

Mohs surgery is an outpatient procedure in which thin layers of skin are cut and checked for cancer.

Jill Biden’s office announced last week that she would undergo the procedure and delivered a letter from O’Connor.

In his letter Wednesday, the doctor to the president noted that “lesions from basal cell carcinoma do not tend to spread or ‘metastasize’ as some more serious skin cancers, such as melanoma or basal cell carcinoma, are known to do. scaly”.

“However, they have the potential to increase in size, resulting in a more significant problem, as well as greater challenges for surgical removal,” he wrote.

Jill Biden, 71, is the oldest first lady in modern American history.

President Biden has accompanied her in two other medical procedures.

Prior to Wednesday’s procedure, Dr. Biden underwent a “common medical procedure” at an outpatient center near the George Washington University campus in April 2021, with no additional details released by the White House.

And, in July 2021, he traveled to Walter Reed to have debris removed from his foot after he stepped on an unnamed object while walking on a beach in Hawaii during a pit stop he made in the state while returning from the Olympics. from Tokyo.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at her briefing Wednesday if the president was undergoing any part of his physical while waiting for the first lady at Walter Reed.

He indicated that this was not the case.

‘This is about your wife today. He wanted to be there and support her,” Jean-Pierre said. “They have been married for 45 years and he wanted to be there with Dr. Biden during this time.”

It is not the Biden family’s first brush with cancer.

Beau Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma in 2013. He died in 2015.

Wednesday’s proceedings came after the Bidens returned from a three-day trip to Mexico, where they met with their Mexican and Canadian counterparts as part of the ‘Three Amigos’ summit.

The First Lady toured the renowned Templo Mayor Museum on Tuesday afternoon with her counterparts, Dr. Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller from Mexico and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau from Canada.

He also thanked his beloved Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the New York Giants in Sunday night’s playoff game.

I am a huge supporter of the NFL. Actually, on the plane here yesterday, I was watching the Eagles beat the Giants,” he said.

He praised the NFL for “teaching our children the values ​​of respect and integrity.”

The first lady joined local students in Mexico City for an NFL flag football event in Tochito, which promotes gender equality and the empowerment of girls.

‘I always say that sport is the international language. And you can see how children from countries, children playing with other children from other countries: it’s about unity. And believing in the same values ​​and goals.’

Jill Biden, who teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College, gave the school kids some pain on Monday.

“You know I’m a teacher, so I’m wondering: Did you skip school to be here?” she said. ‘Maybe,’ she pointed out when the children looked embarrassed. ‘Okay, thanks for being here.’

Before Monday’s NFL event, she hosted a conversation on women’s empowerment at the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar.

“We have never been silent,” he told the group. But women have been silenced. For many women around the world, simply speaking up is a struggle and they had to fight for a seat at the table.

‘When women are left behind or pushed out, it hurts all of us. But when women get the opportunities they deserve, there’s no limit to what we can do.’