Clinton's Lesion Was Skin Cancer

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” A growth removed from President Clinton's back last week turned out to be cancerous but highly treatable, the White House said Tuesday. <br><br>Doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital

Tuesday, January 16th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” A growth removed from President Clinton's back last week turned out to be cancerous but highly treatable, the White House said Tuesday.

Doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital found a flat lesion on the president's back during a routine physical Jan. 12. They removed it, and, as a precaution, they treated skin around it in a procedure known as ``scraping and burning.''

Clinton has had skin growths before. A precancerous lesion was removed from his nose in 1996, and a benign cyst was taken from his chest a year later.

This new lesion marked the first time that skin cancer was suspected, Dr. David Corbett, retired chairman of the naval hospital's dermatology department, said last week.

Pathology results confirmed basal cell carcinoma, the most curable form of skin cancer. The White House said it strikes 800,000 to 1 million people each year.

Basal cell carcinoma is a slow-growing cancer usually confined to the surface of the skin. Thus doctors almost always can remove it with a shallow incision, as was the case with Clinton's lesion.

``So while the president, I guess it could be said, had skin cancer, that has been removed and he no longer has it,'' said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.

Clinton does have an increased risk of recurrence because of his fair skin and years of exposure to the sun, Siewert said. But, he said, pathologists feel the possibility of a recurrence remains low.

Dr. Martin Weinstock, chairman of the American Cancer Society's skin cancer advisory group, said while Clinton probably will not have further problems where the lesion was removed, he still is at greater risk of a recurrence.

``That one basal cell carcinoma that you're diagnosed with is a sign that you're the type of person who is vulnerable to these things,'' Weinstock said. He suggested that Clinton adhere to what he called the ``slip, slop, slap'' philosophy of prevention â€” as in slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap a hat onto his head â€” and be on the lookout for sores that could indicate some other form of skin cancer.

``It's prudent for him to protect himself from sun exposure at this point,'' Weinstock said. ``The most important thing he could do is be vigilant for warning signs of new lesions that could be cancer. He is at increased risk not only of another basal cell carcinoma, but of other skin cancers as well.''

Clinton will have a follow-up visit with a dermatologist in six months. If he has not developed new lesions, he can have annual follow-ups.

Sun-caused tumors usually begin as small, waxlike nodules on the skin, sometimes looking like pearly white scars. They also can form scabs that alternately bleed and heal.

Besides the skin cancer and a slightly elevated cholesterol level, doctors pronounced Clinton in good health as he prepares to leave the White House.