Washington – First lady Laura Bush had a skin-cancer tumor removed from her right shin in early November, it was disclosed Monday night.
The cancer was identified as a squamous-cell carcinoma, a malignant tumor that is the second-most common form of skin cancer.
Explaining why the procedure was not disclosed until now, the first lady’s press secretary, Susan Whitson, said: “This medical procedure was a private matter for Mrs. Bush, but when asked by the media today, we answered the question.”
The first lady was noticed wearing a bandage on her right leg before the November election, and at the time Whitson said Bush had a sore on her shin. In late October, Bush had a biopsy because the sore was not healing, Whitson said. The tumor was removed under a local anesthetic, said Whitson, who called it “a little surgical procedure. It’s no big deal. She detected it early.”
It was the second case this year of a belated White House announcement. In February, the White House waited almost a day before disclosing that Vice President Dick Cheney had shot a fellow hunter during a quail-hunting trip.
